Big Skinny faced difficulty in identifying and solving the problem of finding an online marketing platform that would effectively connect and grow their consumer base, despite their successful in-person sales campaigns.
Big Skinny faced adverse effects from their existing online marketing campaigns, which resulted in unwelcome attention and resentment. When they ventured into online marketing, they had to devise methods to attract visitors to their website and persuade them to purchase wallets. However, adapting their strategy from the straightforward impulse and value-based approach used at trade shows and retail stores proved challenging on the internet.
Big Skinny explored different methods of advertising, including display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, A/B Testing, and social media. They evaluated these methods based on two criteria:
- Improving or maintaining profitability: The ultimate objective of any business is to enhance profitability as it is vital for its long-term survival. This can be achieved by increasing sales, thereby boosting revenues, while also managing current fixed costs.
Increasing market share is crucial for a company or product as it allows for economies of scale, providing a cost advantage. Market leaders utilize their substantial market share to gain leverage and bargaining power in negotiations with suppliers and channel members. The determination of market share can be achieved by dividing Big Shinny’s sales over a specific period by the total industry sales during that same period.
Additionally, enhancing customer satisfaction is vital as it contributes to various benefits such as attracting new customers, increasing business with existing customers, reducing customer losses, and minimizing price competition. Customer satisfaction can be measured through surveys conducted after the purchase process. Survey Monkey offers a comprehensive selection of surveys that can effectively assess customer satisfaction.
Part of this survey could also be used to assess the net promoter score (NPS), which is an index ranging from -100 to 100 that measures customers’ willingness to recommend a company’s products or services. It serves as an approximation of customers’ overall satisfaction and loyalty towards the brand.
Additionally, future online marketing campaigns should adhere to acceptable risk parameters due to a previous incident that posed significant financial and reputation risks for Big Skinny. It is crucial to avoid coupons that lead to zero or nearly-zero prices.
Alternatives:
- Display ads: The conversion rate and pricing of display ads are uncertain. Since these ads are only clicked through 0.1% of the time, it would be ineffective for creating brand awareness or increasing sales. The return on investment would be low.
- Search engine optimization (SEE): SEE has the potential to generate a satisfactory return on investment. However, search engines do not receive payment for organic search traffic, their algorithms frequently change, and there are no guarantees of ongoing referrals.
Due to the lack of guarantees and certainty, a business heavily reliant on search engine traffic can suffer significant losses if search engines cease sending visitors. Search engines have the ability to change their algorithms, thereby impacting a website’s placement and potentially resulting in a substantial decrease in traffic. In fact, Google made over 500 algorithm changes in 2010 alone, averaging nearly 1.5 changes per day. As a result, it is considered prudent for website operators to free themselves from dependence on search engine traffic. While this alternative may lead to increased sales and brand awareness, it also exposes Big Skinny to unacceptable risks.
In contrast, social media marketing has proven to be crucial for businesses, with 92% of marketers in 2014 recognizing its importance and 80% reporting an increase in website traffic as a result of their efforts. This demonstrates the immense potential that social media marketing holds for driving sales and increasing brand recognition. Big Skinny recognizes the value of every opportunity it takes to enhance visibility through social media channels. By engaging with customers on these platforms, brands can cultivate loyalty among their customer base. The implementation of an effective social media plan has the power to transform consumers into loyal brand advocates. Additionally, social media marketing has been found to generate higher conversion rates, as each post, image, video, or comment shared presents an opportunity for customers to engage and ultimately make a purchase. Every reaction from consumers has the potential to drive site visits and subsequent conversions.Despite the low click-through rates, social media still provides a significant number of opportunities. Regularly engaging with customers on these platforms demonstrates good faith towards other customers. Social media is the go-to platform for people to express their compliments towards a product or service.
The more people discuss Big Skinny on social media, the more valuable and authoritative the brand will appear to new users, leading to increased brand awareness. Each customer interaction on social media provides a chance to publicly showcase Big Skinny’s customer service and enhance customer relationships. For instance, if a customer expresses dissatisfaction with a Big Skinny product on Twitter, the comment can be promptly addressed and corrective measures can be taken. On the other hand, if a customer praises Big Skinny, they can be acknowledged and offered recommendations for additional products.
Social media provides Big Skinny with the chance to obtain valuable customer insights through social listening. This allows them to gather information about customers’ interests and behaviors. Additionally, selling on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay offers the advantage of reaching a large audience. With Amazon attracting approximately 85 million unique monthly visitors, selling on such platforms can lead to increased sales volumes. While customers may not specifically search for Big Skinny products on these marketplaces, they might come across Big Skinny wallets while looking for wallets in general.
While selling on marketplaces has its advantages, there are also drawbacks that should be taken into account. These include marketplace fees, which are deducted as a percentage (7-15%) of each sale. For Big Skinny, it is important to assess profit margins to determine if the monthly fee of $39.95 and the sales commission are manageable. Additionally, A/B Testing plays a significant role in enhancing marketing effectiveness. By identifying the most successful elements of a promotion and combining them, marketing efforts can become more profitable and successful.
However, it will be expensive to hire another full-time employee, which should be taken into account in the future. The implementation of a social media platform has various benefits. It will result in improved brand recognition, greater brand authority, and enhanced customer insights, ultimately leading to increased sales and profitability. To start the process, it is recommended to assemble a social community engagement team and a project manager immediately. This team does not necessarily have to consist of solely young individuals who are familiar with social media.
The ideal group for this task should consist of individuals with writing and editing experience, photo editing skills, and some technical knowledge. This group will be responsible for both daily updates and long-term campaign execution.
Within one month, a social media audit should be conducted to examine Big Shinny’s current social media strategy and provide recommendations for future strategy. This audit should also include instructions on how to measure results.
Additionally, within one month, the team should gather social media inspiration from industry leaders, competitors, and clients using social media listening techniques. This will help distinguish Big Skinny from its competitors.
Within six weeks, a one-day workshop should be conducted by a social media consultant to discuss and assist in the development of a strategy.
Within two months, the team should create a social media strategy that integrates with existing marketing efforts. This includes establishing short-term objectives for each social channel to be used, assigning responsibilities to the team members, generating general content ideas, and determining how specific platforms will be utilized (e.g., creating lists on Twitter, hosting hangouts on Google).
Social Barrel has designed an anaphoric that provides specific considerations for this strategy, such as suitable media types, objectives to aim for, potential reach, and target demographics.
Within one month, choose the most effective platform and set up social interaction reporting on Google Analytics to track the channels that bring visitors to the Big Skinny website. Within two months, develop a one sentence mission statement for each social media platform. For example, use Mainstream to showcase the 5 major wallet problems solved by Big Skinny Wallets. Additionally, within two months, establish an editorial calendar and content plan for Edie, streamline resources, foster mutual teamwork, and ensure accountability for deliverables among team members.
