Mackenzie Christensen
2/6/15
BMGMT 185
Chp 4 Case Study
1. After 18 years, Montana Mountain Biking has many customers. About 80% off all customers are returning and many of them are from out of state. I estimate that about none of the MMB customers are in the awareness category. Awareness is described as never interacting with the company, only being aware of products or of the company itself. I believe none of MMB’s customers are in this stage because they wouldn’t be customers if they haven’t been on an expedition. I estimate that about 20% of all customers are classified under the exploration category. The MMB website gets quite a bit of traffic and emails requesting more information about the expeditions are received frequently. Many emails were received requesting information about photographs from the expeditions. This is important because the emails were sent within a month of the photos being uploaded. This means that customers are repeatedly checking on the website to look for updates on expeditions, information, or photographs. I estimate that 20% of the customers are in the familiar stage because many customers are repeating. The MMB logo is well known in the Midwest among the biking community, this means many have participated in expeditions and recognize the logo. I estimate that 60% of the customers are in the commitment stage because of MMB’s high customer retention rate. MMB’s target market is serious mountain biking enthusiasts who are who are happy with their purchase of a week-long biking expedition. I estimate the 0% of the customers are in the separation stage because the cost to keep customers is low.
2. MMB’s previous print marketing strategy did not go as planned. The print ads were printed where the target market would not be reached. It is essential to a successful business to market to the target market. MMB states their target market as serious mountain biking enthusiasts. MMB could use permission email to send out a virtual catalog monthly to those who are interested. Many customers have emailed MMB already themselves. Sending an email catalog to those who have already emailed MMB would be successful because it’s already known that they are interested in the company. The email could also encourage customers to forward it to friends they might think are interested in the expeditions. The catalog could show pictures and testimonials as well as the next month’s expedition schedules, tips, and what to expect. Permission marketing is important to customers and to companies. It shows the customers that businesses don’t have to be annoying and persistent with advertisements. It shows the company who the interested customers are. Sending an email catalog is inexpensive because it doesn’t require any printing. Also, there are no costs for customer’s addresses because customers will provide them themselves.
3. MMB can use social media-based marketing tactics to gain new customers and improve relationships with existing customers. MMB’s Facebook page should include a link to their website, pictures from the expeditions including pictures of customers, their address, phone number, and email address. Existing customers should be encouraged to post on the company’s wall about their experiences on the expedition as well as tagging MMB in pictures. Customers can also tag their friends they think may be interested to the MMB wall. Different customers conversing about their positive experiences on a public forum will bring attention to new customers. Positive reviews are very important to new customers. Other social media websites that can be used by MMB would be Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, and Tumblr. Promotional videos can be shot while on the expeditions to show potential customers how intense the journey is before they make a reservation. Customers and MMB employees can post blogs about their mission showing off pictures and telling stories. These blogs could encourage new customers to join in
