A1. Viability of Product
Glace De La Mode is a jewellery dress shop located in the bosom of Short Hills, NJ owned by three sisters Jenna ( jewelry maker ) , Stacy ( jewelry maker and interior decorator ) and Vicky ( handles all concern related undertakings ) . Glace De La Mode was established to supply premium looking jewellery at a low cost. The company has been around for more than 50 old ages and has a great client base and gross additions twelvemonth after twelvemonth. Glace De La Mode began as a manner jewellery dress shop specialising in what is known as costume jewellery made from non-precious metals. Over the old ages the company has expanded to include all right jewellery, clasps and little pocketbooks and customized electronic accoutrements. All the merchandises are manufactured locally by Grace De La Mode. For their shoe aggregation they have partnered with a shoe interior decorator and industry located in the New York City. The company presently has a Facebook page with the company’s demographics and images of points in the shop and particular publicities.
The dress shop has many clients in the tri-state country of Philadelphia, New York and Connecticut. The sisters have experienced great success and are invariably having petitions on their Facebook page about online ordination, which they do non presently have. Their success nevertheless does non justify a new location presently an online concern enlargement is a better option.
There are advantages and disadvantages with establishing an online shop for Glace De La Mode for illustration advantages include:
Reaching more clients – the company has a big client base with many returning and loyal consumers and have begun to make clients out of province. The web site would bring forth new clients without the cost of a new dress shop.
Online purchasing – both new and current clients can profit from the ability to do purchases online at any clip.
The disadvantages include:
Over exposure – all the productions are locally manufactured by a little staff. Large orders may be hard to carry through at a speedy rate.
Transporting cost – the cost of transportation will be an added disbursal. Until the company has a great on-line presence and success they will hold to take the duty transporting their points.
Extra disbursals – new employees may necessitate to be hired to decently pull off the online web site, make policies that protect the involvement of the company and supply client support
A2. Current Online Competition
The mission of Glace De La Mode is to make jewellery that compare to Lorraine Schwartz and Neil Lane in manner but non in monetary value. Current tendencies in jewellery normally come from the manner runways during manner hebdomad as popular ruddy rugs such as the Academy Awards and the Grammy’s ; and are featured in manner magazines such as Glamour, Elle and Vogue. “Gold jewellery demand in 2013 saw the largest volume addition since 1997 as consumers across the Earth reacted to take down gold prices…” ( Demarco, 2014 ) The current tendencies in jewellery are gilded and statement necklaces. The monetary value of gold had declined doing and many interior decorators are utilizing them in their jewellery. “Rarer than diamonds yet cheaper, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires are deriving favour merely as gross revenues for diamonds are get downing to demo weakness.” ( Biesheuvel, 2012 ) Diamonds are will ever be valued nevertheless colored treasures are going more popular and preferred over diamonds as evident of the success of Glace De La Mode and its rivals Claire’s, Icing and Juliette’s Jewels. Like Glace De La Mode all three rivals specialized in manner jewellery and expanded their aggregations to include other accoutrements.
Claire’s
Claire’s is the largest of the three rivals ; it is an international company with over two thousand shops. Clair’s mark group is adolescent misss and offers jewellery, accoutrements and beauty merchandises. Claire’s has integrated several societal media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest into their web site. Icons for the sites are located on the underside of the website page, doing them seeable merely if you scroll down the page. Social media is used to advance gross revenues and company merchandises every bit good as receive client feedback and on several client stations you can see Claire’s responses to inquiries and remarks.
Customers are featured in many images patterning company merchandises. Claire’s use societal media to maintain their clients up to day of the month with manner tendencies. It is clear is who is the targeted group of consumers for Claire’s. Making an history is optional and is made simple by subscribing in through Facebook or subscribing up utilizing personal electronic mail. Claire’s offers a assortment of payment options when telling online including PayPal, Virtual Piggy, recognition card ( Visa, Master Card, Amex and Discover ) and Claire’s gift card. Claire’s offer 24 hr client service support via phone or electronic mail. ( Information about Claire’s taken from www.clairestores.com )
2. Juliette’s Jewels
Juliette’s Jewels can be closely compared to Glace De La Mode for many grounds. Juliette’s Jewels is located in Glassboro, New Jersey and started as an online shop and subsequently opening a shopfront. Like Claire’s and Glace De La Mode Juliette’s Jewels offer manner jewellery every bit good as apparels and giftware. Juliette’s Jewels has integrated several societal media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest into their web site. Icons for the sites are located at the top web site and are really seeable unlike the arrangement of Claire’s Icons at the underside. The company started as a jewellery company and expanded. The focal point of many of their societal media sites appears to be apparels and the mark consumer group is adult females.
Social media is used to advance gross revenues and company merchandises every bit good as receive client feedback. Juliette’s Jewels appears to hold near positive relationships with its consumers as evident of many inquiries and remarks being answered publically on their Facebook page and many “likes” . To make their client service you can name or subject and organize. Making an history is optional and is made simple by subscribing up utilizing personal electronic mail. Juliette’s Jewels offers a assortment of payment options when telling online including PayPal, recognition card ( Visa, Master Card, and Discover ) and money order ( must be received before cargo ) . Juliette’s Jewels presently do non transport internationally, harmonizing to their payment and transporting information page they plan to shop internationally in the hereafter. Expanding within the state physically successfully would be a following venture before traveling international. ( Information about Juliette’s Jewels taken from www.juliettesjewels.com )
3. Lia Sophia
Lia Sophia is a alone jewellery company that does non hold an on-line shop. Its web site and varies societal media pages are used to link consumers to the merchandises and advisers who sell the jewellery and procedure orders. Lia Sophia features its catalog on nomadic platforms Io and Android ; purchases can non be made on-line nevertheless information is provided on how purchases can be made. Lia Sophia can be coined as the Avon of jewellery. Lia Sophia has integrated several societal media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest into their web site. Icons for the sites are located on the underside of the website page, doing them seeable merely if you scroll down the page. ( Information about Lia Sophia taken from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.liasophia.com/regional/home )
A3. Online Marketing Suggestions and Schemes
Glace De La Mode designs manners jewellery, all right jewellery, electronic accoutrements every bit good as little pocketbooks. All the jewellery is customizable. Glace De La Mode has a assortment of aggregations both vintage and trendy. Glace De La Mode provides mundane pieces every bit good as pieces for particular occasions such as proms, nuptialss and formal events. Glace De La Mode’s current client base consists of adult females between the ages of 15-35 in the in-between category. The mark market is adult females between the ages of 17-45. A great advantage that Glace De La Mode has over its rivals is offering usage made jewellery. They are known for making particular points for nuptial parties and birthdays. Glace De La Mode was featured in a top manner magazine for making usage gem encrusted pocketbooks for a bride’s espousal party. Offering a better on-line experience would better client experience. Customers would be able to make and/or purchase jewellery online without necessitating to see the physical shop. Three online schemes that Glace De La Mode can utilize to allow clients and possible clients know about the alterations in Glace De La Mode is e-mail selling, show ads and google hunt top hit.
E-mail selling is cost effectual, can be distributed on a big graduated table and information is passed to rapidly to clients. Clients are able to have the information rapidly, alteration electronic mail penchants to avoid penchant to their satisfaction and receive particular publicities. “The “Q1 2013 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks” study shows that the email nonbounce rate remains strong, at 96.4 per centum, significance that about all selling electronic mail is making its intended targets.” ( Minsker, 2013 ) Electronic mail selling has been proved to be successful and increase the company’s client base every bit good as gross.
It is rare that persons are without their phone for this ground show ads would be good to the company. Glace De La Mode’s trade name would make big sums of possible clients and increase the company’s branding power as the prime manner and custom jewellery company. “Branding and direct gross revenues are the grounds why a company pays for on-line advertisement. Branding attempts to increase the sensed value of a product/company to the client ; a direct sale advert attempts to carry the consumer to move immediately…” ( Brajnik and Gabrielli, 2010 ) Glace De La Mode presently has a positive repute and its merchandises are valued, on-line advertisement such as show ads would pervade that image to current and possible clients.
Exposure is really of import to making an on-line presence along with show or streamer ads being the top hit on google hunt engine would bring forth traffic to Glace De La Mode’s web site. “A trade name online can even be “ created ” by Google itself, through the association created by consequences in the top three places on Google ‘s paid and organic results.” ( Simmons, 2013 ) Simple footings like manner jewellery would convey possible clients to Glace De La Mode’s web site. Making “traffic” to the web site would convey exposure by conveying more clients to the company and assurance to the consumer due to branding.
A4. Social Media Integration
Social media has become popular in the past 10 old ages. “Social media carries more weight than of all time. It’s clearly non a craze, or a stage. It continues to turn as a wont, and new platforms continue to look and develop.” ( Cooper, 2013 ) Making a concern page on societal media web sites is free and similar to personal pages. Glace De La Mode presently has a Facebook Page and owes a batch of its increased popularity to Facebook. The company uses the web site to portion new merchandises and promote gross revenues. The company Facebook page can be optimized and can besides be used as Q & A ; A platform ; people can inquire inquiries on the page and have feedback about instantly.
The company can besides utilize Facebook to link with people nationally, run particular competition, update clients on tendencies and Glace De La Mode’s take on those tendencies. Instagram is in another popular societal media platform that Glace De La Mode can utilize to advance and market their company. Instagram can be used to portion existent life exposures of the merchandises taken by the company and those taken by existent clients. The mark demographic is adult females between the ages of 17-45 old ages of age. 74 % of adult females use societal media ( hypertext transfer protocol: //mashable.com/2013/04/12/social-media-demographic-breakdown/ ) . Seven out of 10 adult females use societal media ; both platforms, Facebook and Instagram, have no cost to make and/or update, provide free selling and can spread out the range to those clients and may more.
Mentions
Biesheuvel, T. ( 2012, November 15 ) . Possibly Diamonds Are n’t Forever.Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-15/maybe-diamonds-arent-forever
Brajnik, G. , & A ; Gabrielli, S. ( 2010 ) . A Review of Online Advertising Effects on the User Experience.International Journal Of Human-Computer Interaction,26( 10 ) , 971-997. doi:10.1080/10447318.2010.502100
Cooper, B. B. ( 2014, July 16 ) . The Buffer web log: productiveness, life drudges, composing, user experience, client felicity and concern.The Buffer web log productiveness life drudges composing user experience client happineUS Secret Service and concern. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //blog.bufferapp.com/10-surprising-social-media-statistics-that-will-make-you-rethink-your-strategy
DeMarco, A. ( 2014, February 18 ) . Gold Jewelry Is Back In Demand.Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.forbes.com/sites/anthonydemarco/2014/02/18/gold-jewelry-is-back-in-demand/
Lewandowski, D. , & A ; Sunkler, S. ( 2013 ) . Planing hunt engine retrieval effectivity trials with RAT.Information Services & A ; Use,33( 1 ) , 53-59. doi:10.3233/ISU-130691
Minsker, M. ( 2013 ) . Marketing Email Open Rates Jump.CRM Magazine,17( 10 ) , 17.
Simmons, G. ( 2013, August 27 ) . Ten Tips to the Top of Google.Search Engine Watch. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //searchenginewatch.com/article/2066301/Ten-Tips-to-the-Top-of-Google
