Bethsaida Perez
Individual Case
Build-A- Bear
DR. D. Budeva
Build-A-Bear: Build-A-Memory
There are many companies that specialize in a product and the type of service they offer
to the public. Some base themselves on Production Orientation where they only focus on what
the company can innovate or create. Other companies base on Sales Orientation which allows
them to make aggressive sale strategies to get high profits. This is far from being the idea that
Build-A-Bear offers to its’ customers.
The uniqueness of this product has captivated millions of people around the world.
Children and even adults have found this store not only as a retail store, but instead as memory
that will result of building your own stuffed teddy bear or animal. In 1997 the founder of
Build-A-Bear, Maxine Clark, opened the first Build-A-Bear Workshop. Now, she has managed
to open approximately 400 more stores all over the world like in the United States, Puerto Rico,
Canada, parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
There are several needs and wants that this product offers. In the case of a need, it is
essential for a child to become emotionally attached to a certain toy, like a teddy bear which
will help the child be more caring and create certain affections. This product also has wants for
the simple fact that it is a toy. Children will always have the urge to have as many toys as they
desire. We can assume that the need and the want for this product are somewhat alike.
Children are very vulnerable and for that alone, a want almost becomes a need to them. They
just need to have that toy they saw on the television or the just have to have that toy their best
friend has.
Build-A-Bear not only sells stuffed animals, but they want to be categorized as the
ultimate experience in making your own personalized bear, with your own participation and
not just a machine that makes a teddy bear. This company seems to crave for the participation
of children in their ideas and products, in other words, they hold a Market Orientation where
they care and value the customers’ wants and needs and at the same time, they have a product
and service differentiation against any other toy store or toys sold around the world. As simple
as it may seem, Maxine Clark is constantly aware of what her customers are looking for in her
product. She created a system (“Virtual Cub Advisory Council”) where she receives millions of
emails regarding Build-A-Bear Workshops. In those emails she gets feedback on customer
service, ideas for the product itself, ideas for upcoming products, comments and ideas for new
products. According to peoples’ opinions, Build-A-Bear can also form part of Societal
Marketing Orientation for the fact that their toys are not involved with violence but rather
emotional and creative, which can help the child’s development in many ways.
The Build-A-Bear company literally takes you on a journey. The first stage is “Choose
me”. In this stage they allow their customers to choose among 30 unstuffed animals (taking in
consideration that they do not only sell bears, but animals like: dogs, cats, koala bears, birds and
even fishes). Next is “Hear Me” where the customer is allowed to record their own voice, choose
from pre-recorded sounds like the purr of a cat or songs like happy birthday. After giving a
voice to your animal, they take you to a section where you can stuff the animal you chose. The
most important part of this phase is picking a heart- aBuild-A-Bear (which is a trademark for
this company) and making a wish while they place it inside the stuffed animal. This is as BuildA-Bear expresses “This magical moment that brings your furry friend to life and creates an
unforgettable memory”. In this stage Build-A-Bear has made it not only memorable for
children but at the same time emotional and imaginative. The fourth stage is “Stitch Me” where
an employee and the child interact together and stitch the animal with a ‘pre-laced system’
which is patented and exclusively made for Build-A-Bear. After helping to stitch the stuffed
animal you take it to “Fluff Me” where you are able to brush your animal’s fur and fluff it to the
shape you desire. The sixth step is “Name Me”, this is where the child can pick a name for their
stuffed animal and make a personalized birth certificate. Aside of giving a name to their
animal, Build-A-Bear registers the bear with a special ID tracking system, “Find-A-Bear”,
which allows for lost stuffed animals to be found and returned to their owner. The second to
last and optional stage is “Dress Me”. Here the child can pick out of lots of personalized clothes
for their animals, like: Cheerleaders, Soccer players, shoes, sunglasses, hats, etc. And last but not
least the child checks out with their own personalized stuffed animal and the “Cub Condo” a
cardboard house shaped like box.
As ideas come to the owner of this company, she has been able to put out more products
and services in the market. Maxine Clark has the Build-A-Bear Workshop website. In here you
can find from virtual games about teddy bears, to build your own bear online. She also has
seasonal stuffed animals, for example, Polar Bear, Jonas Dog, Camo Bear, Kooky Spooky Kitty
and much more. In addition to that, Build-A-Bear has affiliated with McDonald’s and has been
able to put into a happy meal a mini friend (there are six of them), which also comes with a
virtual gift for the buildabearville web page. In this stage, we are able to see that Maxine Clark
is not only trying to sell a product, but she is trying to position her stuffed animals as
collectables, better known to the children as the “Gotta have ‘em”.
More and more companies have integrated a unique service which works quite well,
birthday parties. This is another service that Build-A-Bear Workshops offer. They charge ten
dollars per guest to make a stuffed animal which also includes a party favor, invitations and
thank you cards and a photo of the party. Each party is accommodated to your own style and
comes with a person that keeps all the children entertained.
Build-A-Bear has made sure to have a productive growth. Maxine is expected to open
350 more stores in the United States, 120 more in Europe and a 300 chain on franchising
stores around the world. Aside of that, she has also kept into consideration all of the ideas from
her customers through the “Virtual Cub Advisory Council” and has integrated miniscooters,
professional sports mascots, among others. This company will also be adding a professional
sport stuffed animals from NASCAR and already has NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL.
The Build-A-Bear Workshop certainly has a bright future ahead of them, especially
because they keep innovating and following the concept of building your own toys. Soon
Build-A-Bear will help launch “Friends 2B Made” which will be the same as Build-A-Bear but
instead of stuffed animals it will be dolls. This company will also open another line this year,
the “Ridemakerz” store and the concept will be to personalize and build your own car.
One of the best ways to know what your customers are looking for in your product is
exactly what Maxine Clark is doing, which is getting feedback from all the children that go to
her stores. I think that as long as Maxine keeps up with the innovated ideas that are given to
her from her customers and herself, Build-A-Bear will have a successful growth and high
profits.