eMarketing Association Group
I was assigned the task of doing a marketing audit on H website and the services that it offers. When I sat down to write about the site, I was surprised to find out that US customers are not given the option of buying H clothes online. Please know, I have only shopped at H twice and both times have been in New York. My experience with shopping in the store was great but because the closest store to me is in Seattle, I haven't really had a chance to go back. Although some of the clothes that I bought at H were slightly low-quality, for the most part, the value was great! My post below is not intended to be perceived as whining but rather, a call for action to H to let its American customers to shop online. -- Thanks for reading!!
Company Background E-Marketing Strategy
Business Target: H is a B2C company that sells a variety of products including shoes, apparel michael kors factory outlet, accessories, and cosmetics. H marketing is targeted primarily at women however; the company offers merchandise for men, teenagers and children as well.
Business Model: The business model employed by H is "markup based" michael kors jet set crossbody. Rather than owning their own production factories, H buys their merchandise from about 700 independent suppliers michael kors handbags uk, mainly in Asia and Europe.
E-Marketing Business Model: H can be categorized as a Clicks and Mortar company in that it has numerous physical store locations but also offers customers the ability to view and (in certain countries) purchase merchandise via their website and catalogs. website does not offer customers the option to purchase merchandise online however; it does provide photos and descriptions of many of their products and allows users to see how their product would look by using the virtual dressing room. Countries that are able to purchase clothes via H website include Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. is between 2 and 4. To better illustrate this difference, the level 4 strategy applies to the website's interactive features with which users can create an account, customize a virtual model to their specific body type and measurements, "try on" clothes, save outfits, and share favorites with friends. shoppers the ability to purchase clothing from the website. market) is to build their brand and provide support for their physical locations. The company's attempt to build their brand image is made apparent by the information they provide on their homepage. Just underneath the H brand, the company lists the following categories: Inspiration, Store Locator, Working at H Press, Investor Relations, Corporate Responsibility, and About H Of these seven categories, only two (Inspiration and Store Locator) are directed specifically towards shoppers. The remaining five categories provide detailed company information and access to the company's annual reports, fact sheets, and so on.
Strategic Effectiveness: Based on their objective to create a strong, positive brand image, the company efforts appear to be successful. From a personal perspective, while reading the company's 2007 annual report, I was impressed by H ability to outline and describe the numerous ways in which their strategic business operations have created value for their customers and enabled them to keep their prices relatively low.
Presentation and Relationship Creation: When first arriving at H home page, the first thing that the one sees is a full page, high-quality, somewhat glossy looking picture of models wearing seasonally popular clothes michael kors outlet purse. After clicking on this image, the site redirects users to a "Spring Fashion Start" page where they can view a slide show of upcoming trends. While H is a clothing retailer, the website presents visitors with a somewhat misconstrued message when the clothes that are being shown on the homepage are not available to be purchased online. For me, the way the site presented the clothing was very appealing but the fact that I did not have the option to buy the clothing made it seem like they were misrepresenting the site's purpose. After clicking on the homepage's image and being directed to the spring fashion slideshow, I noticed a looped option box in the lower right corner of the screen which gave me the option to "Shop at H After I clicked on the option, the site took me to their Virtual Dressing room where I customized a model and created the outfit in the picture below. After creating an account and getting fairly excited about the experience I was having on the site, I was ready to buy my outfit. When I finally recognized that purchasing the clothes was not an option, not only did I feel disappointed, I also felt annoyed by the fact that I had just wasted ten minutes customizing a model and picking out clothes that I wouldn't be able to buy. While the aesthetic presentation of the site is appealing and the virtual dressing room is fun to play around with, the end result of the experience for me left me feeling unfulfilled and therefore, somewhat discouraged from wanting to shop at H />
Depth and Breadth of Content: H content is very detailed and provides readers with an all-inclusive look at the company and its inner-workings. While the site's purpose and function is somewhat misrepresented, I think that the actual information provided on the website is very beneficial for someone looking to find out more about H For people looking to find in-depth "breaking news" for fashion michael kors outlet coupon, H also provides "Fashion Videos" which give short (approx. 2 min) clips of the most recent happenings in the fashion industry. The type of information that H provides is not only interesting, it is also unique from their competitors and because it is frequently updated, the value-add effect does apply for users looking for fashion insights and trends.
Driving Customer Action: H site is well organized and I believe that the Virtual Dressing Room feature would definately motivate customers to buy from the site. Because the Virtual Dressing Room theoretically allows users to see how clothes would look if they were trying them on in the store, the perceived risk associated with buying online is reduced while the fun-factor of shopping is preserved.
User Friendliness: The H site is fairly user friendly. The site's options are clearly presented and easy to read and each page's options are easy to navigate. The site's basic layout seems fairly intuitive for most users however; when searching through the "Inspiration" category, the site become a little more cluttered and slightly more difficult to navigate through.
Site Organization: H site does a good job at organizing its content for all type's of users. People looking for information about the company can click on the "About H page where people looking for fashion trends and ideas can click on the "Inspiration" page. Despite that the site doesn't provide the convenience of shopping online, I think that for people who live near one of their store locations still receive value in that they can shop online before they shop in the store.
Strength and Weaknesses: To summarize, the strengths of H website are:
Provides useful and updated information to all types of users
The site's interactive options are appealing to users and do a good job at motivating action
Site serves different purposes for different regions, thereby expanding their customer base to countries who do not have the option of visiting a store
Site provides users with a unique shopping experience
I think that H is an effective e-marketing company because their aesthetic appeal and interactivity options create a fun experience for users, despite not being able to buy clothes. For me, I also felt that the site established a sense of credibility by providing access to their corporate information and annual reports on their homepage. Some of the strongest features of the site are that it creates a non-online shopping experience for users, provides information and resources for each of the company's specific consumer segments, presents information in a clear and intuitive layout, and provides useful and updated content.
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