...BACKGROUND & UPDATING Build a bear was founded in 1996, in a really hard context for companies in United States, even more for new companies that were trying to come up with something new or in this case for something creative. It was hard at the beginning, but three years later it was recognized as one of the hottest retailers in United States, people also got proud of how a small company could grow up so fast and also to get in the bests companies for customers. Build a Bear was opened by first time in 1996, having after that over more than 200 companies around United States; right now it has even more than 400 companies around the world in four different countries (United States, UK (United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, and Canada), they also give the chance to make it possible for creating a store by starting at least with 5 million dollars (it depends of the country, but that is the minimum capital people have to start with), it doesn’t mean it will be a sub franchising or something similar, they still be the total owners of the store making the country as a new point of the brand. The idea came up in a really particular situation between Maxine Clark and her friend. She was only 10 years old when she was trying to get a bear toy from the store with her friend, but her friend couldn’t find the one she liked it, and then she said it should be a great idea about making her own teddy bear, it was the moment when Maxine went even deeper, and she got a creative and also a pretty...
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...Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear’s actions? Answer: Why children like staffed animals? Why children like Teddy bear over other staffed animal? The answer of the above two question will give you the answer “what is the needs and wants of Build-A-Bear customers?” as well. First of all, children like to play. They always wish to play with those animals and superheroes that they see in the Television screen and other media especially in cartoons. As Build-A-Bear’s customers are almost children, their need is to play. Now, come to the second question, it focuses of a specific toy renowned as “Teddy Bear”. If you think deeply about the question, you will surely find something irrelevant. You may question, who have told you that all the children throughout the world like Teddy bear? Yes you are right, and the difference between needs and wants is embedded into your question. Most of the children of western country like Teddy bear, but from our perspective as an inhabitant of a third world country, the situation is much different. The reason behind it is want – the form of human needs shaped by culture, habits and individual personality. As children of western countries are familiar with the animal teddy bear physically their want is to play with the animal and that’s why Teddy bear is a renowned staffed animal in those countries...
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...The customers of Build-A-Bear Workshop are preteens from all over the world. The customers demonstrate a social need and the need to learn. In fulfilling a social need, this company offers entertainment to its customers and it also allows them to learn to follow instructions and how to assemble a bear. Everyone needs to be entertained, without fun our world will be a place filled with miserable minds and corruption. Being entertained helps children to have a more cheerful spirit and learning helps them to feel successful and to grow. The customers need to be entertained but wants to have fun with and create an experience with the people at build-a-bear workshop. In addition, they need to learn, but want to learn how to build a bear. They find the Build-A-Bear workshop and experience to be appealing and interesting and wish to be a part of it. Because the customers are able to afford what they want, they are able to satisfy their demand for the entire build-a-bear experience. Build a bear actions are certainly satisfying the needs, wants, and demands of the customers. This company has assessed the needs of the customers and has created their products around those needs. 2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction? In order to assemble a bear, the customer can visit a total of seven work stations. First of all, the customer chooses an animal that he or she prefers. Afterwards, the child has the opportunity...
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...Brooke-Lyn Somogyi Build a Bear Assignment #1 1. Give examples of needs, wants and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Customers demonstrate a need to learn and be entertained. When creating a bear you need to follow instructions on how to make it properly. Hopefully, making the bear keeps you happy. Everyone needs to be entertained, without fun our world will be a place filled with miserable minds and corruption. Being entertained helps people have a more cheerful spirit. The customers need to be entertained but wants to have fun with and create an experience with the people at build-a-bear workshop. With that, they need to learn, but want to learn how to build a bear. Since the customers are able to afford what they want, they are able to satisfy their demand for the entire build-a-bear experience. 2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s products. What is being exchanged in a Build-A –Bear transaction? In order to assemble a bear, the customer needs to go through seven steps. First, the customer chooses an animal that he or she prefers. Second, you have the opportunity to actually bring the hand-picked stuffed animal to life by stuffing it. Third, you get to customize the bear. You can insert a voice box to add sound or you can leave it without any sound, and then stitch the animal together. Once your have it filled with stuffing and its all stitched up then you dress it. Just the way you...
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...CASE 1 –Build a Bear, Build a memory- Synopsis: Build a Bear was founded by Maxine Clark in hard times. Where the internet was in its early phases of development, this era was a bad time to come with this type of business idea and as a matter of fact, Maxine Clark was criticized for this business idea. But nearly a decade later this company was considered as one of the hottest five retailers. The company hit number 25 on Business Week´s Hot Growth list of fast expanding small companies and Maxine Clark won Fast Company´s Customer-Centered Leader award. After being the president of Payless shoe store and resigning in 1996 (Selk, 2015), Maxine Clark´s Build a Bear first store opened in 1997 in Saint Louis Missouri. By 2007 it had sold over 50 million customer-made teddy bears and registered sales of $474 million. Clark’s inspiration came from her 10 year old friend Katie. She argued why she couldn´t find the stuffed toy she wanted and that it was so easy to make (Build a Bear, 2015); and so the inspiration came. Currently, there are over 400 stores in the USA, UK, Puerto Rico, Canada and franchises in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Mexico and Africa, with more than 125 million Bears living around the world. They are also diversifying the product, not only teddy bears. Now customers can build dinosaurs (Build a Dino), dolls (Friends 2B Made) and Build a Bear at the Zoo where customers can decide in a variety of more than animals. (Build a Bear) Nowadays the current...
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...Build-A-Bear Assignment Question #1: Give examples of needs, wants and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Needs: Needs are defined as states of felt deprivation. They include basic physical needs (food, shelter, warmth, etc.), social needs (affection and a sense of belonging) and individual needs (knowledge and self-expression). These needs are a part of the human makeup; they are not created by marketers. The Build-A-Bear customers are mainly children and all children have a need of entertainment, love & affection, comfort and a sense that they belong. Build-A-Bear fulfills these needs by offering an experience that provides them with entertainment, creates a new friend for them to love & bring comfort and by joining the Build-A-Bear “Club” they get a sense of belonging. Wants: Wants are defined as the form needs take when shaped by culture and individual personality. In Build-A-Bears case children want the opportunity to personalize their new friend based on their individual preferences. Starting from the “Choose Me” station, where they can select the type of stuffed animal, thru to the “Name Me” station, the children have control, giving them a sense of individual satisfaction. Culture shapes the sense of belonging need into a want by influencing the children to want to belong to the “Build-A-Bear Club”. Other children who have shared the experience already belong making the new customers want to as well...
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...Build-A-Bear: Build-A-Memory In the late 1990s, it was all about the dot-com. While venture capital poured into the high-tech sector and the stock prices of dot-com startups rose rapidly, the performance of traditional companies paled in comparison. This era seemed like a very bad time to start a chain of brick-and mortar mall stores selling stuffed animals. Indeed, when Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1996, many critics thought that she was making a very poor business decision. But as the company nears the end of its first decade, it has more cheerleaders than naysayers. In 2005, one retail consultancy named Build-A-Bear one of the five hottest retailers. The company hit number 25 on BusinessWeek’s Hot Growth list of fast-expanding small companies. And founder and CEO Maxine Clark won Fast Company’s Customer-Centered Leader Award. How does a small startup company achieve such accolades? THE PRODUCT On paper, it all looks simple. Maxine Clark opened the first company store in 1996. Since then, the company has opened more than 370 stores and has custom-made tens of millions of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Annual revenues reached $474 million for 2007 and are growing at a steady and predictable 15 percent annually. After going public November of 2004, the company stock price soared 56 percent in just two years. Annual sales per square foot are $600, roughly double the average for U.S. mall stores. In fact, Build-A-Bear...
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...Build-A-Bear: Build-A-Memory In the late 1990s, it was all about the dot-com. While venture capital poured into the high-tech sector and the stock prices of dot-com startups rose rapidly, the performance of traditional companies paled in comparison. This era seemed like a very bad time to start a chain of brick-and mortar mall stores selling stuffed animals. Indeed, when Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1996, many critics thought that she was making a very poor business decision. But as the company nears the end of its first decade, it has more cheerleaders than naysayers. In 2005, one retail consultancy named Build-A-Bear one of the five hottest retailers. The company hit number 25 on BusinessWeek’s Hot Growth list of fast-expanding small companies. And founder and CEO Maxine Clark won Fast Company’s Customer-Centered Leader Award. How does a small startup company achieve such accolades? THE PRODUCT On paper, it all looks simple. Maxine Clark opened the first company store in 1996. Since then, the company has opened more than 370 stores and has custom-made tens of millions of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Annual revenues reached $474 million for 2007 and are growing at a steady and predictable 15 percent annually. After going public November of 2004, the company stock price soared 56 percent in just two years. Annual sales per square foot are $600, roughly double the average for U.S. mall stores. In fact, Build-A-Bear Workshops typically earns back almost...
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...Build A Bear How does a small start-up company achieve such accolades? A small start-up company such as Build-A-Bear can achieve such accolades by doing what it has been doing for the last fifteen years. It has kept the customer very involved in the final product. That way there is never a dissatisfied customer, because they created exactly what they wanted to see as an end result. Not only do you have a very pleased customer, but the company has also created a personal memory with them that can never be taken away. Which is a lot more than other companies can offer. 1. Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear’s actions? Build-A-Bear customer’s needs are the self-expression and affection they have from building their friend. The want that they have is adding all the accessories that don’t necessarily need to be on the bear, but it’s what makes them unique. Is this essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 550,000 just like it! get better grades Demands are things like the Spiderman costume that came out when Spiderman the movie was a hit. 2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction? In a Build-A-Bear transaction the customers have multiple options to apply within the making of the bear. For example, the choosing of...
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...BUILD A BEAR A MEMORY SUMMARY: Maxine Clark opened a company store “Build A Bear” in 1996. In that era people were interested in dot-coms . Opening a retail shop at that time was not rational. But the founder of the company store found a new way to attract customers and to satisfy them. As its name shows it is a workshop where bear are built but not by the worker but by the customers themselves. This was the concept that took Build A Bear to the highest position in the retail stores. Maxine Clark established a system where children come and by moving to various work stations step by step they make their own toy or stuffed animal unlike any other made anywhere in the world. This empowerment gives the customer more value than any other company. Maxine Clark sells the experience and not the product to the customer. This affordable empowerment of $10 to an average of $25 is the key success of Build A Bear. Maxine Clark takes all the ideas from the customers. It is a completely customer centric organization. This participation of customer has made it too successful that its annual sales have rose to $359 million for the year 2005 and is consistently increasing 20% per year. Build A Bear believes on customization and they think of their selves as an experience not the product. Question No 1: Give examples of need, want and demand that build A Bear customer demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What the implications of each are on Build a Bear’s actions...
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...Swot Analysis of the Build-a-Bear Workshop Strengths Venturing into an untapped market for hands-on customisation of teddy bears, Build-a-Bear has established itself as a market leader. Its success derives from its dynamic retail concept where customers create their own teddy bears from choosing the outer casing of the bear down to stitching it up, personalising it along the way. The interactive nature of the process brings out the creativity and individuality of the customer and at the same time, allows them to have fun. Build-a-Bear is family oriented and does not restrict the age of customers to below 12, hence is an ideal place to go for family bonding. Guests enjoy the highly visual environment, the sounds and the fantasy of this special place while they create a memory with their family and friends. Why Build-a-Bear has been successful so far is probably the fact that the customer walks out of the store happy and satisfied. Due to the popularity of the Internet for networking, especially amongst today’s Internet savvy kids, Build-a-Bear has launched a virtual world- buildabearville.com- to pique their interest in their products and build customer loyalty. There, guests can bring their furry friends to life online to play together, create their own online character, play games, chat with friends and more. Knowing the market is essential in keeping up with the changing wants of kids, which is why the “Virtual Cub Advisory Council” was created, where a panel of children...
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...Vazquez Cruz Build-A-Bear Case Incident June 17, 2015 1. Give examples of needs, wants and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Build-A-Bear involves the participation of the customer into the creation of stuffed animals. This activity provides to the customers social, physical and individual needs, by performing a fun activity which at the same time give a pleasant experience and memories. What this product offers cannot be acquired in any other toy store. Therefore, what made Build-A-Bear unique, is what they give to the customers. The needs that people look forward to acquire from this store turn into wants. For example, Customers can get stuffed animals in stores such as ToysRUs, but they decided to get it from Build-A-Bear because they not only buy a stuffed animal. Customers also acquire the experience of participating in the creation of personalized entertainment. Therefore, it is a want when customers choose to spend their money in Build-A-Bear than in any other toy store because they want to participate in those activities. Moreover, customers’ demand comes when they choose to spend their money in order to acquire stuffed animals from Build-A-Bear over other brands or stores. 2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction? 3. Which of the five marketing management concepts best describes Build-A-Bear Workshop? ...
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...Build-A-Bear Build-A-Bear 1) Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate social and individual needs. They feel the need for belonging and affection, and for self expression. They demonstrate their wants as wanting to create a new friend that they will be able to share their affection with and in return, through their imagination, reciprocate that affection and sense of belonging. The customers ability to personalize the bear from the very beginning, including choosing from more than 20 stuffed animals. Dressing the bear in personalized accessories, and naming the bear is an example of the customers wants to express themselves. Because all of this is attainable through a relatively low monetary cost to value and satisfaction ratio the customers wants become demands. 2) During a Build-A-Bear transaction a lot more is exchanged than just a product for money. The entire process of building your own customized bear allows you to fulfill your wants and needs of the product and creates a lasting memory and in return you build a strong relationship with Build-A-Bear where you become a profitable and loyal customer to the company. 3) The marketing concept best describes the approach used by Build-A-Bear workshop. This is achieved by allowing the customer to choose exactly which product is best for them. Because the bear is completely customizable Build-A-Bear doesn't need to try and find the right customer for their product the customer can simply create the right product for themselves...
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...wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear’s actions? It is very important for any company to fully understand their customers’ needs, wants, and demands in order to perfectly satisfy them, and consequently capture customer value in return. Needs are states of felt deprivations, they include basic physical needs, social needs, and individual needs. According to our case study, we can observe that the target customers of Build-A-Bear Company are children and consequently their parents. Examples of needs demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are: Children’s needs: 1-Playing, enjoy time, have fun, and exploring new things 2-Have a toy Parent’s needs: 1-Enrich their children experience 2-Utilize their children’s energy in a useful way Wants are basically needs that are shaped by culture and individual personality. Examples of wants that are demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are: Children’s wants: 1-To go to a convenient fantasy place where they can meet their favorable cartoon characters, and allow them to touch their dreams 2-To get a customized, personal toy of their favorable character Parent’s wants: 1-To enroll their children in a practice that will result in joy, and experience 2-To buy their children their favorable customized toy Demands are wants backed up by buying power. Examples of demands demonstrated by Build-A-Bear customers are: From...
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...com/essay-on/Build-a-Bear-Build-a-Memory/51296 1. Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. What are the implications of each on Build-A-Bear’s actions? Answer: Why children like staffed animals? Why children like Teddy bear over other staffed animal? The answer of the above two question will give you the answer “what is the needs and wants of Build-A-Bear customers?” as well. First of all, children like to play. They always wish to play with those animals and superheroes that they see in the Television screen and other media especially in cartoons. As Build-A-Bear’s customers are almost children, their need is to play. Now, come to the second question, it focuses of a specific toy renowned as “Teddy Bear”. If you think deeply about the question, you will surely find something irrelevant. You may question, who have told you that all the children throughout the world like Teddy bear? Yes you are right, and the difference between needs and wants is embedded into your question. Most of the children of western country like Teddy bear, but from our perspective as an inhabitant of a third world country, the situation is much different. The reason behind it is want – the form of human needs shaped by culture, habits and individual personality. As children of western countries are familiar with the animal teddy bear physically their want is to play with the animal and that’s why Teddy bear is a renowned...
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