Montana Mountain Biking free essay sample

Montana Mountain Biking Case Study MMB five stages of Customer Loyalty. The five stages of customer loyalty are awareness, familiarity, commitment and separation. Based on the case narrative, about 5% of MMB customers are in the awareness category because MMB logo is recognized in the mountain biking industry. Customers in this stage are aware of MMB existence and services but have not purchased any service from the company. They have limited relations with MMB because the company is not actively marketing the company product and services.Jerry Singleton needs create more awareness MMB products and services through advertising campaigns in order to increase customer awareness. Also, about 10% of MMB customer falls in the exploration stage. These are potential customers who are seeking to learn more about the company and its products. They have submitted their email addresses to inquire about the expedition. The case narrative mentioned that the number of email inquiries have increased within the month because of the trail pictures that were posted on the websites. We will write a custom essay sample on Montana Mountain Biking or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Furthermore about 10% of MMB customers are in the familiarity stage.These are customers who were probably recommended by existing customers who are pleased with the services provided by MMB. Customers in this category have purchased products and services from MMB are familiar with how they operate and may still purchase services from other competitors. Finally about 75% of MMB customers fall under the category of commitment and less than about 1% falls under the category of separation because they have managed to maintain high customer retention. Customers that fall in the commitment category are repeat customers that are satisfied with the quality of service they received from MMB.They have reached the commitment stage and would willingly recommend new customers to MMB. Recommendation of MMB Email Marketing strategy Even though Montana Mountain Biking has managed to maintain high customer retention they still need to create more company awareness in order to win potential customers. In the past the company spent $80,000 on print advertising for ads in some outdoors and sports magazines. The company is currently working with a marketing consultant to look into buying an address list and sending out promotional mailing. The cost will be $0. 0 per name rental and $4 per mailer. There are 60,000 names on the list and the total conversion cost will be about $246,000 which is very costly. MMB should therefore consider an email marketing which is less costly than mailing promotional letters and traditional method of advertising in magazines. Email marketing strategy is an effective e- business tool that would help to create more company awareness and also enable MMB to keep in touch with existing customers. Email marketing can either be done as random marketing or permission marketing.Random marketing will probably have less impact because the email will be sent randomly to various email addresses. It will not be the best route to take because these unanticipated emails may be considered as spam and will either be blocked or deleted by the recipient which defeats the purpose to the MMB’s intent of creating company awareness. I would therefore recommend Permission Marketing which is more effective because the emails are sent to intended recipients who have expressed interest in the company products and services. Even though the mailing list will be purchased from a company it will still be less costly.It may cost $0. 10 per name but the company will not have to incur the $4 per mail cost since the email aspect can be handled by a staff of MMB. Using permission email marketing will be more cost effective and will definitely help MMB in reaching its awareness and marketing goal. The Use of Viral Marketing to gain new customers and cement its relationship with existing customers Viral Marketing â€Å"relies on existing customer to tell other people – the company’s prospective customers’ about the products or services they have enjoyed using† (Schneider, 2011, p. 199).MMB customers email inquiries has increased dramatically within the past month because one of the expedition leaders started posting pictures of trails over the past year on the websites. Even though many of these email inquiries were about MMB expeditions there were also some inquiries that asked about permission to use the photos or if these photos were for sale. I think using the photos is a perfect opportunity to engage in viral marketing. MMB could include as part of its package a free optional digital photo of customers on while they are on their expeditions.These pictures can be posted on the websites and also offered to customers. This would be a great promotion for the company because customers can invite family and friends to view their pictures on MMB websites. There can also be a link on the photo page to invitation and information about future expeditions and trails. The beauty of the pictures and trails will definitely lure potential customers to be a part of this wonderful experience. Existing customers will also be pleased because they have been given another extra â€Å"free† service.They also have another means of sharing their experience with family and loved ones. This viral chain will continue as MMB wins more customers over into their client base. Affiliate Marketing Strategy for MMB In affiliate marketing â€Å"one firm’s website the affiliate firm’s includes descriptions reviews ratings or other information about a product that is linked to another firm’s site that offer items for sale. (Schneider, 2011, p. 197). As an affiliate marketer MMB will promote other business products and receive commission for every visitor who follows the link to the sellers, website.In order to set up an affiliate MMB will have to join the affiliate program and link the affiliated product MMB website. MMB also needs to focus on businesses that provide products and services that are closely related to the services they provide. Since MMB business provides mountain biking expeditions their customers are mostly athletic and outdoors sportsmen therefore they should establish an affiliate with sellers who sell sporting gears such as Mountain Bike Gear, Accessories and Apparel. The products provided should also have good reviews.MMB can also provide recommendation to its customers and post pictures where some of their customers or employees are using these products. This would help to increase the click through sales which would lead to increased commission. As part of the affiliate program I would recommend, Great Outdoors, REI, Sports Authority, Dicks Sporting Goods and JensonUSA. These are well known sporting goods stores that promote outdoor activities sell products that can be used by MMB customers in their one week mountain biking expedition. Of the five recommendations MMB will probably benefit more from REI and Great Outdoors. REI is a well known outdoor store chair that provides great gear. clothing and equipment needed for all outdoor adventures. Great outdoors will also be an excellent affiliate because they not only sell outdoor gears but also provide information about tour events and expeditions. MMB can take advantage of this connection to advertise their tours on their website thereby creating more awareness of their business and the services they offer. References 1. Schneider, G. (2011), Electronic Commerce (pp. 197-199) Ohio: Cengage Learning