Best Buy Business Analysis

Best Buy Contemporary Business Abstract This research paper focuses on the functionality of Best Buy’s website. It further discusses the how Best Buy promotes their products. There is a description about how their website informs the consumer about the capabilities of their products. Further there is an evaluation of the contact information which includes the many options for contacting them. Due to the large variety of the products offered by Best Buy there are many ways for them to customize products to the customer needs which they attribute their sustainability. Also there is a discussion about the marketing strategies and what is in place on their website. Additionally there is an analysis of the corporation’s privacy policy and response to a security breach with recommendations on how to prevent further compromises. Describe and evaluate a major corporation’s Website in these four areas: (1) product information, (2) corporation’s contact information, (3) customization of products for customers, and (4) customer information at purchase. Best Buy Incorporated, founded by Richard Schulze in 1966, is a top provider of electronics (Form 10K, 2011). Best Buy is also a Fortune 500 hundred company is considered the largest retailer in its class who dominates the market by accounting for 21 percent of the market (Form 10K, 2011). Best Buy Inc is also globally diverse with stores in Canada, China, United Kingdom and Mexico (Form 10K, 2011). Best Buy conduct online operations through many different brand names; BestBuy. com, BestBuy. ca, BestBuy. co. uk, BestBuyMobile. com, CarphoneWarehouse. com, Five-Star. com, FutureShop. ca, Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster. om, and PhoneHouse. com (Form 10K, 2011). Each brand name targets a specific market internationally. Best Buy employs a robust website which features all of their electronics, home office and entertainment products, appliances and services. When selecting an item the consumer has access to a multitude of information about the product. For example, when selecting a flat screen television the first thing that stands out is â€Å"free shipping† then right underne ath is the price, both which is very important to the consumer. Also on this page are credit card advertising and solicitation, protection plans and the ‘buy back’ program. Additionally they have a general description of the product features which gives basic information about the television. As a show of confidence in their product and the service they provide, there is a section dedicated for ‘customer reviews’ where those who has experienced the product can voice their opinion on a 1 to 5 scale. Best Buy shows the individual reviews and an average of the totals. This can prove valuable to the consumer when needing the opinion of someone that has experienced the products functionality to give an assessment of its operation. Additionally there is a ‘specification’ section which gives more detailed description about the characteristics of the product. Further there is a ‘learn’ section which educates the consumer about the featured terms used when reading technical information on the product and a featured guide section which gives detailed information about research and development of the various types of products. Finally Best Buy offers a ‘accessories’ section which give the customer suggested product that are compatible to the specific item which also can be purchase from their store. Best Buy’s corporate contact information link presents the customer with a whole host of information about the organization. The ‘about best buy’ link opens the book about the company. This link gives stock quote and the latest news releases on what the company is offering, tips on shopping and more. There is also information on careers, a link for the investors and developers, sustainability, community relations, site map, and affiliate programs. The ‘contact us’ link offers many avenues in which to contact several departments within the corporate umbrella. The Best Buy corporate customer care supplies their postal and e-mail addresses and phone number. There is also a means to get in contact with the public relations department and vendor inquiries. On the ‘Sustainability’ link Best Buy takes pride in educating customers on technology so they can make the correct decisions when in the market to purchase products to fit their use (Sustainability, 2011). Their site states, â€Å"Through education, influencing public policy and driving industry innovation, we want to help you learn about technology solutions and how to use them to enrich your life and our world at the same time (Sustainability, 2011). † With the large variety of products and their willingness to educate consumers on their products shows they make a great ffort to satisfy their customers’ needs and to influence them to purchase products from them. When checking out Best buy provides the customer and option to purchase matching accessories and protection packages. Then there is an opportunity to subscribe as a recurring customer by checking out and building your profile which will save the customers information for future purchases that wil l speed up the checkout process or there is an option to check out as a guess which will only save the consumers information for the purpose of checking out. Either way at this point is where the customer enters billing information to include; name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Once the free delivery date has been selected then the customer is directed to the payment method window where the option to pay using a credit card or PayPal to pay for the items. This page also offers links to; conditions of use, legal notices, and privacy policy. On the privacy policy link Best Buy Web site employs TRUSTe and uses encryption technology to protect personal information. Describe and evaluate three (3) of the corporation’s Internet marketing strategies and the competitive advantages its Website provides. Best buy utilizes differentiating product by applying the positioning concept by establishing their products in the mind of the consumers as soon as you visit their web site. They accomplish this by showing an array of products to gain the attention of the customer giving the impression since they have a large variety of products then there will be an item the consumer will want to buy. In comparison the H. H. Gregg site which has a limited selection to choose from. Best Buy also uses the provide information strategy providing detailed information about each of their products and affording customers to write a review about their purchases gives the customer the most up to date information about their experience with their new item. In marketing, people, is a very important element in the promotion of the organizations product (3 Keys, 2009). Word of mouth is the most effective advertisement to influence others to patronize the company (3 Keys, 2009). They also accentuate product value by offering extended warranty plans in addition to the factory warranty and they have also implemented a ‘buy back’ plan where the customer buys into the plan which guarantees the price Best Buy will pay for product purchased. All of these incentives prove Best Buy backs and has a strong confidence in their wide variety of products which gives them the competitive advantage. Analyze and evaluate the corporation’s privacy / security policy and the corporation’s response to the security breach. Best Buy employ’s TRUSTe and encryption technology to protect the privacy of their customer personal information (Privacy, 2011). Within their privacy policy they advertise they take the customers privacy seriously (Privacy, 2011). It tells what information is collected, how it’s used, how it’s shared how they protect you information, and the customer choices regarding their personal information (Privacy, 2011). They collect highly sensitive information to include; name, postal address, e-mails address, phone number, credit card number, driver’s licenses number, social security number when applying for credit and demographic information (Privacy, 2011). All of which if compromised would cause grave consequences for their customers. Additionally Best Buy admits they collect information through cookies which saves data on the customer’s personal computer (Privacy, 2011). But advertises the cookies are used to create a personalized shopping experience on their websites (Privacy, 2011). Best buy uses this information for marketing practices, customer’s transactions, research and analysis, managing customer accounts, e-mail communications, and advertising (Privacy, 2011). They maintain this information for as long and the customer has an account with them and to comply with legal issues (Privacy, 2011). Best Buy shares customer’s information within their organizations other websites and legal ramification may require (Privacy, 2011). There is also a disclaimer Best Buy will share personal identifiable information in the event of a sale, merger, or disbanding (Privacy, 2011). Best Buy victim to hackers recently which acquired access to customer files (Security Breach, 2011). Their reaction to the security breach was to inform customers of the breach and warned them to ignore emails asking for confidential information but acknowledged there credit card information was safe (Security Breach, 2011). Recommend and provide rationale for two (2) methods and/or tools to ensure greater security for customers One thing which seems to stick out the most is Best Buy will share personal identifiable information in the event the company disbands. It would be better to purge this information to avoid compromise. When disbanded there is no guarantee the information would have the same protection engines in place as the company had while in business. There is not any mention of an outside computer security organization to monitor their systems for hacking. Since hacker have stepped up their effort and have been successful on many occasions it would be wise to step up security measures in order to prevent future compromise. Conclusion This analysis was conducted to provide a description of best Buy’s website and its functionality. How the products are displayed, promoted and the robust details they give about each of their item. Best Buy uses many marketing strategies to promote their products which give them the competitive advantage. Additionally there is a look in Best Buy’s security practices and a how compromises are handled. References United States Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10K (2011, May). Best Buy Corporation, Commission File Number 1-9595. 4-7. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from http://phx. corporate-ir. net/External. File? item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDI0NDcyfENoaWxkSUQ9NDM5MjU1fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1. Best Buy. com (2011). Sustainability Report. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from http://sustainability. bby. com/management-approach/sustainable-solutions/. DesignDamage. com (2009, July). 3 Keys to Improve Your Brand in Social Marketing. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from http://www. designdamage. com/tag/best-buy/. Best Buy. com (2011, July). Privacy Policy. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from https://www-ssl. bestbuy. com/site/olspage. jsp? id=cat12102&type=page&contentId=1218227255732&entryURLID=pcat17011&entryURLType=page&h=488. MPRNEWS (2011, April). Best Buy, US Bank Among Companies Warning of Security Breach. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from http://minnesota. publicradio. org/display/web/2011/04/04/data-breach-best-buy-epsilon/.