Marketing
Case study – DrGlen.com Elite Vitamins

1. Based on the text's discussion of personal service, (p. 355), do you agree with the letter written by John Soderberg concerning the customer's complain about her service?

The letter Mr. Soderberg wrote concerning the customer’s complaint about her service is unacceptable. In competitive markets it is extremely difficult to gain a client base and companies need to do the right thing to assist loyal customers. Mr. Soderberg dismisses the clients mistake of unchecking the auto enroll box on the website, acknowledges that she did not get an e-mail informing her about her first refill, and doesn’t know whether or not she received an e-mail back in regards to a question she sent in to the company. In my opinion the 20% off is a slap in the face. This client has been loyal and refers her friends to the website. The company made a mistake by not acknowledging her concerns and didn’t once offer anything to retain her business. The client bought from this company because she was offered professional advice and personal recommendations on the vitamins that work specifically for her body. She believed in the company and trusted their advice by taking another health survey which resulted in another sale. The client called to place the order and declined the automatic refill option and expressed her concerns about the program. The company should reevaluate their decision to help resolve the issues this customer has had or risk losing her as a client. Customers weigh negative experiences more heavily than positive ones and often times always tell people about the negative experiences more so than the positive ones.

2. These products, vitamins and supplements are sold through a website Dr. Glen.com. What are the advantages and disadvantages of internet advertising?

The advantages of advertising online are vast. For the Dr. Glen website I believe the most important advantage is the ability to tell the company story. As an Internet based business the owners need to win customers and if they disclose how they started and list their credentials they have a better chance of doing so. It is also cost effective to run an Internet based store, because digital self-service lowers expenses for the company. Internet ads listed on other websites link to a more detailed website (Dr. Glen’s site) and this makes it easy to track results. Recent studies show that people are increasing their time spent online rather watching TV or reading newspapers and with the increase use of social media networks the potential to share information is endless. Cookies are another way to track customers buying behavior. The tactic is called behavioral targeting and it stores information in a cookie file on the user’s computer system. Disadvantages of Internet advertising is that it only reaches computer users. Those that do not use computers cannot take advantage of special offers or promotional e-mails. Internet based advertising makes it hard to compare costs with other media and the potential of “click fraud” which is used to defraud the advertiser and make money for a dishonest website.

3. Do you feel that other promotional methods such as sales promotion or advertising through magazines or tv would improve sales at Dr. Glen? Defend your answer.

Limiting to Internet advertising could be a costly mistake for a company, but as the company grows other tactics should be incorporated to increase sales and exposure. Sales promotion can be used to provide skeptical customers a trial period. Those customers that are debating whether or not vitamins are for them can be enticed to make a purchase at a discounted price to see how they like it. If the vitamins live up to their promise the likelihood the customer will buy again is increased. Magazine ads or television commercials can also increase sales for Dr. Glen’s vitamins. Magazines, in my opinion, would be a better choice over TV because magazines tend to target a specific audience. Dr. Glen can buy a page in a health magazine and easily get more hits on his website to further research the company and perhaps make a sale. Magazines also have good “pass-along” as they are displayed in doctor office waiting rooms, banks, and other public places. Television ads are very expensive and with new technology like DVR viewers tend to skip commercials and cable can be selective.