In my research I’ve found the following things:

Number one – The Majority of people over the age of 30 have NO CLUE what they’re doing while shopping online.

Number two – Web developers like to cut corners when it comes to the niceties of online data collection and exporting of that data.

Number three – The basic emarketing strategy actually DOESN’T work for every business.

Number four – There is no such thing as easy traffic.

Number five – Teaching old people about Internet marketing is much harder than previously perceived.

While these are my initial reactions to the first week of work at The Flag Lady I am still extremely confident in the being able to target the niches that they have as customers and am even more confident that after a little bit of tweaking, this online presence is going to be HUGE when I get done with it.

Currently The Flag Lady’s Flag Store only targets the standard retail shopper that would shop every day in their retail store. The real opportunity of growth is going to be from targeting the specific niches they have inside their business. Thus far they’ve had a catch all approach to online marketing. Once I get the proper product and marketing tools in place, this business is going to flourish and take off like never before. I’m still very encouraged by the potential of the business to take off online, I was just not originally aware of the amount of work it was going to take to get the business to take off online.

Yesterday 4/30/2010 was my last day at eRetailing. It was a really bittersweet day for me. It was time to move away from the colleagues and friends that I had and move on to take over the web presence of The Flag Lady. With this new position come a lot of great challenges and exciting opportunities for growth. It was something that I needed to do not only for myself but also for the family business.

I am going to miss everyone at eRetailing very much but I am very confident that they will continue to succeed in all aspects of internet marketing. If you take a look at some of their web properties you’ll see just what I’m talking about. You can find all sorts of great deals on CustomizedGirl.com, BridalPartyTees.com, and their newest and most exciting venture CustomizedGraphics.com. They were a great company to work for and I won’t ever forget the great things I learned while working with them. Thanks for everything.

I. Rivalry Among Competitive Sellers

The restaurant industry is a very competitive industry. On a typical day US consumers spend a total of $1 billion at eating establishments (Thompson). There are constantly new entrants to worry about as well as companies struggling to make a profit. Panera competes on many levels including fast casual dining and specialty foods (Panera). Panera’s main competitors include McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee and Subway. However there are hundreds of restaurants that compete with Panera on a national, regional, and local level that has a negative impact on the company’s revenue and market share (Panera).

To stay profitable in the highly competitive restaurant industry, Panera regularly reviews and revises their menu “to sustain the interest of regular customers, satisfy changing customer preferences, and be responsive to various seasons of the year” (Thompson). Panera develops an advantage in changing their menu over competitors such as McDonald’s and Subway who do not change their menu frequently and customers often lose interest in their menu offerings.

Starbucks Coffee however, does offer seasonal coffee beverages and a la carte food items to stay competitive for similar reasons as Panera. Starbucks and Panera have similar in-store atmospheres that make them rivals. Both companies offer an atmosphere that invites patrons to stay for awhile with comfortable chairs, calming music and Wi-Fi. In order to gain a competitive advantage over Starbucks in terms of the atmosphere, Panera introduced meeting rooms at many of its locations to attract large groups of patrons. Panera, in 2004, introduced its catering service Via Panera to further expand the business and gain an advantage over rivals (Thompson).

II. Threat of Substitutes

In the restaurant and food industry, there are not any substantial substitutes to food because people have to eat food every day. Food is a basic need and nothing can substitute that. Since there are no major substitutes the threat is relatively low in this category. However, there are substitutes to Panera’s atmosphere and their coffee selections.

Panera has developed an atmosphere that encourages people to hold meetings or get work done at the restaurant. A substitute to this could be to have the meeting in the office or just work from home. Panera has to offer people a reason to come into their restaurant as an alternative to the workplace or their home. The company competes with this substitute by offering a professional calming environment to get their work done without any distractions that may hinder people from working.

One of Panera’s signature menu items is its coffee. Substitutes to coffee are caffeinated beverages and energy drinks. Instead of going into a Panera for a coffee, one could simply stop by the gas station and pick up an energy drink of caffeinated beverage. Panera has the advantage with this substitute because many people either prefer coffee or prefer energy drinks and stick to their preference so the risk of customers switching to a substitute is low.

III. Threat of New Entrants

The threat of new entrants is high because barriers to entry are low and the pool of entry candidates is large (Thompson). People are always looking for a new and different place to eat and because of this demand new restaurants open daily. In addition many restaurants do not stay in business for very long due to bad menus, dining experience, food quality and service (Thompson).

Barriers to entry are low because there are little regulations from the government, there are usually no patent or legal protection needed, and there are little technological drawbacks that other industries experience (Hudson). If a person raised enough capital they could easily open up their own restaurant without many restrictions.

New eateries also have an advantage over established restaurants because consumers are more likely to give new restaurants a try (Thompson). Consumers are constantly looking for variety in their meals so this gives new restaurants an incentive to open as well as steady business in the beginning of their operations. Panera competes with these new entrants by constantly changing their menu to meet customers’ diet and seasonal wants.

IV. Buyer Bargaining Power

Buyer bargaining power is relatively high for Panera. The restaurant must constantly be staying in tune to customer preferences or the customers will easily eat at another restaurant. The food industry is highly competitive and in addition there are low switching costs for consumers and consumers have access to quality and nutrition information.

One item that makes the buyers bargaining power high is that there are relatively low switching costs to choose another restaurant over Panera. Consumers taste preferences change daily and eating at another restaurant other than Panera offers no additional costs other than the food prices. Panera recognizes this changing taste preference and offers a wide enough selection of menu items for customers to enjoy multiple times a week since the average American eats out four times a week (Nutrition).

Buyers also have a great amount of power because quality information of the restaurant industry is readily available. 83% of restaurant patrons like nutrition information on the food products (Nutrition). Many restaurants have seen this and are now posting nutrition information because customers are more likely to visit a restaurant that posts the information. Also, in many cities laws have been passed that requires restaurants to post inspection results in a visible spot. This now makes restaurants pay closer attention to the restaurant quality because they may lose business if they do not receive a good inspection.

V. Supplier Bargaining Power

Panera’s suppliers have a relatively low bargaining power because they implement a lot of controls to keep their bargaining power low. Panera controls the quality of their main product by making the bread themselves daily. Also, the company contracts with numerous suppliers to keep an individual suppliers bargaining power low.

Panera has an advantage in terms of suppliers because the make their own bread in 17 fresh dough facilities and own 140 trucks to deliver the dough anywhere from 300 to 500 miles to stores (Thompson). This vertical integration has made Panera capable of controlling the quality of its signature product, their bread. The bread is delivered daily so if for any reason the bread cannot make it to the store sales and brand reputation can suffer.

Panera has numerous suppliers for each ingredient so that it can obtain ingredients from other suppliers when necessary (Thompson). This lowers the risk of a supplier driving up the price for Panera because if one does, Panera could simply switch to another supplier. Panera also has contracts with suppliers and distributors to control the costs of their supplies.

What decisions made by Panera in 2009 lead to its current financial success in 2010?

Panera made many decisions in 2009 to contribute to the success of the brand. They made strategic decisions that still made them successful in a down market while competitors were struggling for profits. Panera decided to continue operations without downsizing and found a successful way to gradually expand while keeping costs low. Panera also found success by offering consumers more value for their money other than just lowering prices.

In 2009, many businesses were considering downsizing to adapt to the slower market. Panera focused on expanding because of the lower real estate costs (Gregory). By doing this, Panera created a long term recipe for success. The restaurant will have lower operating costs in 2010 so their margins will be higher. Panera took a risk with this strategy because of the unpredictable market, but Panera seems to have been immune to the recession because their sales continued to improve.

During the recession, many restaurants started competing for the lowest prices because they thought that was the best strategy to continue to gain customers in a slower market. While most restaurants were going with this approach, Panera decided to go another way. Panera decided to give the customers more value for their money (Horovitz). The company decided to make some of their menu items, such as soup, slightly bigger and charge a bit more for them. Most customers did not realize the price increase because of the added size. This strategy has proven successful for Panera because their profits have continued to increase and their stock has been steadily increasing.

Panera has also been successful by introducing many new menu items to keep their customers interested, such as a cobb salad and other healthy menu choices (Horovitz). Recently in the United States there has been a strong push for healthier eating. Panera has adapted to this trend by offering a wider variety of salads, healthier meats, and healthier bread options. Panera has a high enough brand quality and customer loyalty that customers could recognize the healthier options. Competitors like McDonald’s who also tried a healthier image did not fare as well because McDonald’s has a lower brand quality and is known for unhealthy fast food.

What initiatives should Panera take now so that it may survive and thrive during the period of 2010 to 2012?

Panera could take many initiatives to continue to survive and thrive in the coming years. Panera could increase their focus on catering to expand the restaurant’s brand. The company could also continue to focus on a healthy menu to meet customer demands. Panera could increase the awareness of the use of all natural ingredients to attract new customers. Also, Panera could increase their dinner offerings to increase their sales and customers at off peak hours.

One way Panera could continue to thrive is to expand their catering division, Via Panera, further. Catering offers a continuous source of revenue from a new market without changing the brand image. In 2005, Panera’s catering service provided an additional $80 million in sales (Thompson). If Panera continues to expand their catering the company could essentially double the catering sales.

Panera should also continue to the healthy brand image by offering a wider selection of fruit choices on the menu. Panera’s CEO has said that they are working on a salad with chicken and grapes (Horovitz). However, Panera should expand their fruit selections further to gain more customers who do not have a taste for their mainly vegetable filled dishes.

Panera uses all natural antibiotic-free chicken in their menu offerings, however there is not much awareness of this to the general public (Thompson). Panera should increase their marketing efforts to gain more awareness of the healthy chicken. The majority of people who want healthy chicken go to their local grocery store for the chicken. If more people knew they could get it from Panera at a good value then the restaurant could increase their sales.

The restaurant should also increase their dinner offerings, such as a healthy pasta or chicken dish. Panera establishments are often busy during lunch time, but can be slow during the dinner hours due to the lack of dinner options. To gain more patrons at dinnertime without conflicting with their brand image, pasta and chicken breast dishes could be profitable. Currently, evening-hour sales counted for just 20% of their business (Thompson). If they added more dinner options, Panera could expect the evening-hour sales to double.

References

Hudson, B. (1995). Venture capital in the restaurant industry. Retrieved from

http://cqx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/36/3/50

(n.d). Panera Bread Company. Retrieved from Datamonitor/Life Science Analytics
Company Profiles database.

Thompson, A, Strickland, A, & Gamble, J. (Ed.). (2008). Crafting and executing
strategy. New York: Magraw-Hill.

York, E. (2009). PANERA. Advertising Age, 80(39), 16. Retrieved from Business
Source Complete database.

(Please note some references were lost in the process of saving this case study)

When times were good for you, you just expanded, things happened so quickly that you didn’t even have the time to do everything exactly the way you were supposed to, because you were just worried about maximizing profit right away, am I right? Thought so. Well most companies were no different. New shiny technologies were emerging faster than ever, new sales avenues, new products, new social media platforms. It was exciting, who can blame you for jumping in with two feet and no shoes on. That was then and this is now. The following is a step by step guide on how to rebuild a foundation for affiliate marketing success.

Step One

Rebuilding a foundation for marketing success is all about getting back to the basics of affiliate marketing. Take a look at your current affiliates, which ones are performing? Which ones aren’t? Which of your affiliates were performing well last year, but have since fallen off the deep end? Identifying where you and your affiliates stand is step number one.

Step Two

Step Two is to lose weight. Slice off some of the fat with regards to affiliates that take up a lot of your time but don’t yield a high financial gain. Then take a look at your offers, are there too many? and is your companies overall main message being spoken through every ad? Identifying these issues is vital to step number three.

Step Three

Get Organized. You’ve identified all of your problem areas, get all of your ducks in a row, and get ready to take action on your problem areas. Prioritize which areas need the most help and will have the most effect on your business and get ready for the next step.

Step Four

Take action. Now we’re ready to go forward with our plan for rebuilding the foundation growth. Clean up your message, start contacting those affiliates who used to perform well, take the areas that used to work well, and get them in solid working order.

It really is all about getting back to the basics, getting back to what used to work well for you. Once you get those right, your network will start to see small gains. After a short time those consistent small gains will give you the foundation that you need, in order to really start building your affiliate programs out even further. We all have a tendency to over think things. Especially when we’re fearful of losing our businesses. Trust your instincts, continue to learn, work your butt off, and I promise that you will get back to where you want to be.

While that is a great job at PR by Google, I’m not buying it. Google really messed up here for a number of reasons. One, they forced all of the users of their gmail service into Google Buzz. Two, they forced each user to auto follow all of the other gmail users in their contacts list. Three, they made the default setting post your “buzzes” publically. Hello PRIVACY ISSUES! A simple apology is just not good enough from a company of that size. They didn’t just lose email files, their server didn’t just shut down. They essentially made everyone’s private issues public. Google, the largest search engine on the face of the earth, one of the most influential companies in the history of commerce, and the single largest holder of information in the world, made a big no no.

I don’t know if you’ve been reading about the latest search battle news but I’m pulling for Bing. Besides, competition in the search engine marketing world will be good for most internet marketeers. So the next time you search, I’m encouraging everyone to Bing It!

I can not tell you how great it has been for me to hear from all of you and hear how much my writing means to you and how the things that I’ve shared have helped you in one way or another. I believe that the internet is the single greatest communication device ever created (DUH!) and I am happy that I have been able to inspire some of you to try new things, but more importantly to continue your studies as an internet marketeer.

In closing for today, I just wanted to say thanks again to all of you, your support has been overwhelming to me. Until next time…hit the books.

A lot of online businesses have embraced how powerful the blogging community has become and how great a blogger can be at helping sell your products to a target market. One of the tactics that we use is to contact a blogger from one of our niche’s ask them if they’d like to review our product, and then we sponsor a contest in their honor. Well when they are reviewing the product, now they’ll have to make it blatantly obvious that they are receiving the item they are reviewing for free.

We never ask for a good review, we specifically ask them to be honest in their review of the product, and to tell all of their readers exactly how they feel. It’s a risk we take that they may or may not like the product. With this new FTC lock down on testimonials it is going to significantly hurt a portion of our revenue model, in an already down economy. Now we have been doing online commerce for years now, so chances are we’re going to survive, but what about all of the others who are just getting online, also trying to run successful businesses, and are already feeling the crunch of these poor economic times? They are going to be the ones really hurt by all of this. This is just another example of how government regulation in business does a lot more harm than it does good.

This is just my opinion. I feel very strongly about this issue and I’d love to hear what each of you think about it. In a time when sales are very hard to come by for almost EVERY industry, the government wants to make it even harder to sell. It’s just bad for business and bad for capitalism.
Click Here to read more on this issue

This is a trend we’ve been seeing for awhile now (not just this administration). In my opinion it needs to be brought to a screeching halt.

Unfortunately the answer is not all that simple. First you have to ask yourself a few questions. One, who is your audience and are they on Twitter? Two, what are you trying to do with Twitter? Three, does Twitter fit into your time budget? And Lastly how will you measure Twitter Success? I’m going to be attempting to clarify each question for you throughout the rest of this article.

The first question is a question that everyone should always ask themselves before getting into any endeavors with their business or marketing plan. Who is your audience? If you don’t know the answer to that question, you had better find a new profession and quickly, this economy is not a forgiving one, and there is certainly no room for businesses that don’t know their market. Is your audience using Twitter? do a little bit of research behind this one. Use Twitter Search and search for some of your market’s main keywords, if there is a lot of conversation about your product, genre, or niche then you might be onto something. If not, don’t waste your time. There are plenty of other great places to spend your time trying to acquire customers.

If you decide that you’re going to set up a Twitter account for your business the next question to ask yourself would be, what are you trying to do with Twitter? Just like anything else you have to have a common goal in mind and a plan to reach that goal. Do you want overall brand awareness? Another place to share your blog links? Or do you want to drive direct traffic and sales through Twitter. Whichever way you decide to go there are a different marketing techniques and best practices in order to get you to that next level.

Does Twitter fit into your time budget? We all know that Twitter is a free service and that Dell claims they made $1 Million in sales on Twitter last year, but are you Dell? The answer to that question for most of us is a definite NO! It is going to take time to build your Twitter following, and in my experience from a direct sales standpoint with Twitter, it takes a longer time to actually get people to want to purchase from you. So figure out if it is worth your time to start the campaign before you do.

The last question you’ll want to ask yourself is how will you judge Twitter success? This should go hand in hand with the reasons you are joining Twitter in the first place, but if you aren’t getting those sales right off the bat, how will you measure success? How are you going to measure the amount of brand awareness Twitter is bringing you? These are generally answered through whatever analytics program you use for your site but make sure you have this in mind as well.

After you have asked yourselves all of these questions I think you’re going to be well on your way to getting started with Twitter. You’ll certainly be well ahead of about 85% of the Twitterverse anyway. The reason my company has stopped spending time on Twitter is because of the infestation of the spam community and the lack of sales directed through Twitter. It has however been a great traffic driver to specific content that we are trying to push. Now that you know the questions you should ask yourself, start answering them already will you!? I mean time is money people! Have a good one.

Think of it like this, before when you made a posting on your Facebook Page, or a status update that you really wanted everyone to have a chance to see, it was quickly pushed to the bottom of the pile by other status updates from other users. Now, your page updates, (contests, blog posts, and promotions) will still be able to be seen for a much longer time. This is about the single greatest thing that Facebook could have added for business promotions.

From what I can tell their doesn’t appear to be any real algorithm for success just yet for how to make it into these news feeds, even the Facebook Blog post at the end says “Raylene, a Facebook engineer, hopes this blog post made its way into your News Feed.” I guess it is once again even more important for you to post a lot of interesting content in order to reach your audience effectively. Good luck!