1. Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of Each on Build-A-Bear’s actions?
2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction?
3. Which of the five marketing management concepts best describes Build-A-Bear Workshop?
4. Discuss in detail the value that Build-A-Bear creates for its customers?
5. Is Build-A-Bear likely to be successful in continuing to build customer relationships Why or why not?
The success of the business organisation depends upon the strategies formulated by the management of the organisation. The management of the business organisation focuses on the strategies for the development of the innovative products which will ultimately win the competitive market and fulfilling the expectation of the target market. In this assignment, the case study of Build-A-Bear has been discussed and it studies how Maxine Clark has won Fast Company’s Customer-centered Leader Award through her innovations.
1. Maxine Clark has proved herself a successful entrepreneur and her Build- A-Bear is a huge success business venture. Maxine Clark received Fast Company’s Customer-Centered leader award. Maxine focused on the customers and exercised their experience for the production of new and innovative bear and animal stuff. The success of the company is found in the experience of the children in participating the creations of entertainment that is very much personalised. Personalised and customised products for the customers are the key strategies of the company.
The need of the customers of the company was to procure the personalised and customised products. The customers of the company need a high-quality product that meets their expectations.
The customers want the company to offer them an opportunity to assess the quality of the products and let the children find the utility and entertaining features of them. The customers of the company feel happy to wait in line behind the other customers and they do not feel that it is an unpleasant work(coursehero.com, 2017). They want to enhance their experience by waiting for long. The customers, basically the children leave the store at the end with a product that is completely different from any product they have bought or seen. They feel that the product that the customers procured have been created by them.
2. The demand of the customers is always for a product that is customised. The concept of the company is absolutely based on customisation. The demand for the personalised features has been clearly realised. The company believes that the creativity of the customers and the freedom to express themselves help the company to produce a quality product. The
The case study of the company entitled Build- A-Bear: Build- A-Memory simply talks about the experience that the customers the customers find after procuring the product of the company. Since its inception in the year 1996, the company consistently wins the customers. The company has almost 370 stores and more than tens of millions of teddy bears & other stuffed animals and these are custom-made. The company has multiple and all facets of Build-A-Bear’s products. The company does not showcase what it achieves as a success(Mueller, 2016). Maxine says that success of the company does not come from the sale of the tangible objects that the children carry with them. It comes from its real selling that is the experience of the participation of the customers in the creation of entertainment that has been personalised.
A child finds a genuine fantasy world in the Build-A-Bear store. The store appears like work stations. The experience of the child begins with “Choose Me” station where he or she picks one unstuffed animal from the bin. The animal appears live when it is being operated by the child. “Hear Me”, “Stitch Me”, “Fluff Me”, “Dress Me” and “Name Me” are the customized products of the company. The customers get a pleasant experience and leave the store with a product. The experience the customers get is that the product that the carry is created by them. This experience the customers get at the end of their shopping.
3. There are five important marketing concepts. These five concepts are the concepts of production, product, selling, marketing, and marketing for the well-being of the society. Each concept has their distinctive activities. The concept of the production focuses on the operation of the organisation and production(Bhasin, 2016). The concept of product focuses on the consumer’s expectations and focuses on the features like quality, performance and innovation(Dulaney, 2015). This concept advocates that customers become loyal to the products when they get more benefits out of it. The concept of selling focuses on the promotion of the products so that customers will get attracted to the products. The next concept is marketing. The company focuses on delivering the target market the better products than the competitors. The societal concept believes in delivering the target market the value better than the competitors. This focuses on preserving the well being of the consumer’s as well as the society.
In the case study organisation this has been found that the company focuses on formulating strategies that will be employed for producing quality and innovative products. The company focuses on delivering the customers the most personalised and customised products. The company focuses on delivering the customers the most exciting experience of the participation in the creation of the entertainment that is personalised. Each of the products has its distinctive features and offers rich experience. At the end, the customers go with its product. The company knows that the customers will be loyal when the products have personalised features.
4. Maxine Clark is called the strategic visionary for her Build-A-BEAR concept. The skills of Maxine related to the development and implementation of strategy brought huge success to her business. She employed the methods called low tech and high tech for establishing the company as an organisation that is truly customers centric(Nicklaus, 2016).
Maxine believes that the success of the company depends on the favourable interaction of both the customers and the company. She prefers to interact with the customers and helps her employees during the time of service delivery.
The company gives utmost priority to the customers. The direct interaction between the customers and the management could possible through e-mail. Virtual Club Advisory Council is a platform created by her to capitalise on the communication of the customers. Maxine has a panel of children in the list of her email. This high-tech communication helps Maxine to gather the valuable ideas and she prefers to rely on the customers for help.
The Build-A-Bear puts the ideas of the customers into the practice. The Cub Council gets the real time feedback from the customers. Thus it helps the company to get real-time feedback.
5. The success of any company depends upon its business strategies for winning the customer’s expectations. The survival of the business depends as long as the customers are satisfied with the business (stltoday.com, 2016).The strategy of Build-A-Bear for the building customer relationships are unique and innovative. This strategy will help the company to survive in this business world. There are various strategies that have been identified here..
The company focuses on innovations and tries to make the products different from all the competitors. The customers get personalised experience when they procure the products of the company.
Product
The products of the company are different from other business competitors. The company focuses on exploiting the innovative ideas of the customers. It focuses on customised and personalised products.
Cost leadership strategy
The company gives more stress on offering the customers the best products based on the high price to delight ratio. The bears of the company cost as low as $ 10 & the average cost of the product are $ 25. Due to the low and average cost, the parents and the children prefer to visit the store of the company.
The company gives more importance to its customers. Clark has clearly stated that the direct relation with the customers help the company to go for new products every time. The company always let the customers be very creative and express their innovative ideas. Clark visits the stores and talks to the customers directly. She talks to the parents and children so that their ideas will help her to go for new innovation. Clark has created a ‘Virtual Cub Advisory Council’ which contains the email address of the children. This helps the company to get real-time feedback. The company has found that Hello Kitty bears, mascot bears & sequined purses are the innovative products of the company that was created by the help of the customers. These were the successful innovation of the companies for the customers of the company.
The concept of ‘build your own’ is a successful concept of the company. This has brought more commercial advantages to the company. ‘Friends 2B Made’ is another concept of the company that is built around the customised dolls.
All these show that the strategies formulated by the company will help it to establish a successful long run relationship with the customers.
Conclusion
The success of the company depends on the appropriate strategy of the business organisation. Build-A-Bear has won the competitive advantage and got the support of the customers with its customer’s friendly strategy. The company gives more importance for the production of new and innovative bears and animal stuff with the help of the customers.
Bhasin, H. (2016, 12 4). Concepts of Marketing – Five Marketing concepts explained. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from marketing91.com: www.marketing91.com › Marketing management articles
coursehero.com. (2017). Build a Bear-58 Part One Aftter Viewing the Video. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from /www.coursehero.com: https://www.coursehero.com/file/13048764/Build-a-Bear/
Dulaney, C. (2015, 02 19). Build-A-Bear Posts Better-Than-Expected Results. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from www.wsj.com: https://www.wsj.com/articles/build-a-bear-posts-better-than-expected-results-1424369501
Mueller, A. (2016, 12 19). Why Build-A-Bear has set sail. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from www.bizjournals.com: https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2016/12/19/why-build-a-bear-has-set-sail.html
Nicklaus, D. (2016, 05 08). Build-A-Bear, unloved by Wall Street, ponders its future. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from www.stltoday.com: https://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/build-a-bear-unloved-by-wall-street-ponders-its-future/article_abce76c7-c749-5474-bdb1-2c848d7f0dbf.html
stltoday.com. (2016, 05 08). Customer Strategist Journal Build-a-Bear Builds a Brand … – TeleTech. Retrieved 03 08, 2017, from www.stltoday.com: www.stltoday.com/…/build-a-bear…/article_abce76c7-c749-5474-bdb1-2c848d7f0db…
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