Brand Analysis
Mathew Goldberg, Jesse Silverman,
S
Best Buy’s Mission
Best Buy’s mission is “to improve people’s
lives by making technology and
entertainment products affordable and easy
to use.”
Has become the nation’s largest volume
specialty retailer of name-brand consumers’
electronics, home office equipment,
entertainment software and appliances.
Industry Analysis
Technology Trends and Dynamics
• More adults are able to pursue a post-secondary
education because of online education growth. Also
enrollment and application are accessible via the Internet
(source: Education Dynamics).
• Human connectivity, social media and online shopping
exemplify rising aspects of the technology market dynamic
from the last ten years which leads to more adults investing
in different kinds of technology in new ways (source:
Global Futurist).
Competitor Analysis
S According to Forbes – Retailers have tried to gain market
shares in technology since Circuit City’s bankruptcy in
2008.
S These main retailers include:
Walmart markets themselves as the most convenient store, with
the most convenient prices. They are extremely successful in
gaining a loyal following, making it a weekly experience.
Strengths:
• Everything is offered at Low
Prices
• Huge Customer Base. More than
100 million customers weekly in
the U.S. alone (PBS)
Weaknesses:
• Not enough variety within their
technology selection.
• Staff not necessarily trained to
answer complicated questions.
Marketing Strategy: Low Prices, Tapping into constant customer base
Related Stores: Target, Sams Club, BJ’s
Radio Shack, markets themselves as a complete tech focused
business. They strive to make their customer’s lives easier by
connecting them with necessary technology.
Strengths:
• Operates out of small store fronts
• More one on one help.
• Assistance the moment you
walk in
• Low Prices
Weaknesses:
• Scarce variety of products and product
lines
• Mainly focuses on Communications
(Phones, Wireless Connections)
Amazon relies on adapting to the customer’s needs and wants
to be successful. The customer is the boss. As a result, it has
become the leading online market place.
Strengths:
• Don’t have to worry about physical
locations .
• No need to leave the house.
• Quick delivery.
Weaknesses:
• Customers do not have the product
immediately.
• Prices are not constant, many
different vendors
• An employee isn’t by your side, assisting
with a product.
Related: New Egg, EBay
Brand Analysis
Mission & Business
• Technology & Entertainment
Strategic Goals
• Technological hub
• Customer Centricity
Market Share
• Unexpected Decrease
Distribution
• Storefronts
• Increase in online shopping
Middlewood, Martin. “Best Buy Rolls Out Customer – Centricity Program.” CRM Buyer. 2004. Web. 13 March 2012.
Bustillo, Miguel. “As Big Boxes Shrink, They Also Rethink.” Wall Street Journal. 2004. Web. 13 March 2012.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Pearce, Aneysha. “Highlights from Prophet’s First Annual U.S. Reputation Study” Prophet. Web. 13 March 2012.
“Funding Universe”. The Gale Group, Inc. 2006. Web. 13 March 2012.
“International Expansion Key for Best Buy.” The Street. 2010. Web. 13 March 2012.
Gerzema, John & D’Antonio, Michael. “How The Crummy Economy Has Changed Spending Habits.” Business Insider. 2010. Web. 13
March 2012.
Customer Analysis
• Catering toward a “high-profit” customer (source: Wall Street Journal).
• An unprofitable consumer, as the article states, “buy products, apply for
rebates, return the purchases, and then buy them back at returnedmerchandise discounts.”
• Profiling its customers and identifying the most profitable segments
lead Best Buy to see an 8.4% increase in sales that same year it installed its
new strategy. By adapting to the growing trends (i.e. enterprise mobility)
they’ve seen an increase in profitability (source: Jennings on
“Segmentation).
Customer Analysis Cont.
•
For its "Barry" segment, which represents wealthy professional men, Best Buy
will add leather couches to some stores to create a comfortable environment for
watching large-screen TVs and listening to high-end sound systems. Stores
targeting "Jills," who are soccer moms, train their sales associates to help
customers without using terms like "gigabytes" and "megapixels," which may be
intimidating (source: Jennings “Segmentation”)
•
By plugging into the power of customer centricity, Best Buy has become North
America’s number one specialty retailer of consumer electronics software and
appliances according to FICO
Communication Strategy
Positives
1)
2)
-
Customer Centricity
Looked at the company from the outside in, Segmenting your customers
Related products became bundled together
Added Geek Squad, and Play areas for kids
Very hard to do, necessary for most companies
Website
Easy to use, Lots of options, multiple categories
Very detailed, educates customer on product they are purchasing
Quick Checkout with multiple billing options
3) Cloud Marketing
- Vision is to give consumers the power to buy products quickly and easily regardless of how
or where they prefer to buy
- Large enterprise developers vs. smaller long-tail developers.
- Drives more revenue and leverages Best Buy’s biggest competitive advantage against pureplay E-commerce retailers
Others: Mobile Marketing, Point of Sale, Social Media
Gulati, Ranjay. "Inside Best Bu'ys Customer-Centric Strategy." Harvard Business Review. N.p., 12 apr 2010. Web. 11 Mar 2012.
<http://blogs.hbr.org/hbsfaculty/2010/04/inside-best-buys-customer-cent.html>.
Communication Strategy
Negatives
1) Weekly Mailings
- Supposed to advise customers on products and deals in store
- Tried to add in to information such as low prices, sales, education on technology,
questionnaires, etc.
- Morgan Stanley Analyst Greg Melich said, "I like that Best Buy has all these balls in the
air, but they are not all going to work.”
2) Community Relations/PR
- Best Buy Children's Foundation and other assorted efforts
- Doesn’t have a strong fit with their business, builds relationships only with people it
directly affects
- Brings little public awareness
3) Print Advertisements
- Most Ads in Wired Magazine, a magazine mostly read by technologically savvy
- Mostly about Brand Awareness, doesn’t build customer relationships
Augustine, Erica. "IMC-Observation:Best Buy." Company Overview. Mkting 4100. 2006. Print.
Social Media
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Facebook
Over 5,500,000 followers, updated daily
Segmented pages (Music, Movies, Racing Gaming, etc.)
Promotions/Deals
Twitter
Updated Daily
Over 260,000 followers
Promotions
Geek Squads Supportopedia
Blog like website with sharing of information and tips on technology
Supported by Geek Squad (They will answer your questions)
SPY
Puts all social media websites together
You can scroll through each social media site on one screen quickly.
Youtube
Michele , Azar, perf. Open for Business: Best Bu'ys Social Technology Strategy . Perf. Matheny Kevin, and
Thomson John. Best Buy, 2009. Web. 10 Mar 2012.
In Conclusion…
• We plan to build a new strategy to bring Best
Buy back to the top of the technology
industry by…
1) Regaining Brand Loyalty
2) Improving prices
3) Hiring better staff
4) Upgrading technology