Online Marketing
at Big Skinny
Presented by Group 3_Section A
Introduction
▸ In 2010, Big Skinny CEO Kiril Alexandrov wanted to transcend retail distribution
and print ad to a world of digital marketing
▸ Retail sales pitch had high conversion rates as it focussed on value of the wallet and
impulsiveness of the customers
▸ Translating this offline sales pitch to online mode was harder and required more
work
▸ They faced a glitch in their online campaigns which allowed 4000 people to order
wallets for free
▸ The transition also resulted in many people leaving negative reviews regarding the
delivery
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Problems Solved by Big
Skinny
Size & Weight Better fit and toughness Safety and snuck interior
It was 5-7 times thinner, 50% - Big Skinny wallets can be Lined with rubbery coating so
75% reduction in size. Big Skinny overstuffed but without worries wallet contents don't fall even
wallets weighed on ounce at most, of wear and tear. They are when shaken upside down. It
it gave better comfort and are water resistant, can be machine keeps your important cards and
good for the person’s back and washed. IDs safe and sound.
posture.
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One customer wrote in a
“ report that his wallet had
been stolen. “After I lost
my Big Skinny wallet,
someone returned my ID
and credit cards, but kept
the wallet itself.”
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Problem Statement
▸ Despite successful in-person sales
campaigns, Big Skinny struggled to find an
effective online marketing platform to
connect to its customer base. Kiril wanted to
expand Big Skinny’s online marketing
presence but was confused whether to focus
on new customers or existing customers.
They also had a glitch with their marketing
campaign which brought unwanted attention.
▸ Should they hand off more of its web
marketing to web-retailers like Amazon?
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Data Analysis
Shift to the world of Digital
Marketing
▸ Attempted to convince online visitors to buy wallets
▸ Transition from trade shows to online retailing proved to
be a tall task
▸ Big Skinny looked into different means of advertising -
display ads, algo search, sponsored search, A/B testing
and social media
But the click through rates of general display ads in 2009 was
0.1%. Algo search was relevant to user’s query.
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Alternative Options
▸ Eliminate online distribution ▸ Be selective in choosing online
and paid marketing. Depend distributors. Tailor paid sponsored
on social media and own searches to invoke interests and
website to advertise. sales.
▸ Scrap paid marketing plans, ▸ Expand to more brick and mortar
reallot advertising budget to retail stores, aim different
deep discounts. demographics. Partner with other
retailers to sell the products at
more trade shows. 8
Key Decision
Criteria
1. Increase customer satisfaction and brand
image
2. Increase sales and market share
3. Improve profitability
4. Ease/speed of transition
5. Within the present resources and capabilities
6. Within acceptable risk parameters
7. Minimize environmental impact
8. Maintain and build employee morale and
pride
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Option Analysis
▸ By limiting to free social sites, marketing cost will be cut significantly.
Display ads CTR is 0.1% which is waste of time and money. Getting
rid of online distributors saves the 7%-15% commision. Big Skinny
already has good customers’ testaments for their wallets on social
media so it is a good choice to double down on social media
campaigns.
▸ Being selective with online distributors adds to a happy customer.
Negative reviews on review sites can be avoided by choosing the right
distributors to deliver the products in time. Eliminating all paid
searches will result in grinding down some % of the sales and market
share. Completely cutting deep discounts with coupons will also cut off
customers looking to buy without paying full price.
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Option Analysis
▸ Reallocating the marketing budget to offering of deep discounts
will lead to influx of sales and customers, new and old. But
companies often lose money offering deep discounts as sites like
Groupon requires the product to be discounted by 50% and takes
50% commission and there is no guarantee of getting a repeat
customer to pay full price again.
▸ Big Skinny already has good customer relations and impression
at trade shows and other in-person sales. People have approached
to ask for distribution and sales right at other trade shows,
doubling down on what's already going well for Big Skinny is a
wise choice, but the reach that online sales can give beats offline
sales by miles.
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Recommendations
Keep online retailers like Amazon, eBay, but cut deep discount sites. Use such online retailers to
target new customers as people believe in the endorsement by Amazon. Increase price on company
site by 10%-15%, this will drive up sales on Amazon and other online retailing sites.
Revamp their social media sites and pages to boost their product sales by engaging with old
customers.
Choose proper online distribution channels to avoid long delivery time, this will also cut down bad
reviews, customers and customer reviews play a big role in the final buying decision.
Revamp their website to fit algo search results and avoid terms like ‘leather wallet’ on their sites as
they do not produce leather wallets and the word ‘leather’ itself carries a negative perception.
Use impulse invoking terms like - best wallet for gift, wallets for dads, etc.,
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THANKS!
Any questions?
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