Integrated Marketing Campaign

Shopbop lacks Advertorials.  While they do brand collaborations, it is more so relating trends/lookbooks rather than promoting a campaign.  The use of celebrities and fashion icons is completely lack there of.  I thought great personas to be used for furture advatorials were Rachel Zoe, Michelle Obama, and Kate Middleton.  These Stylish women all maintain the stylish, fashion-savy aspect of Shopbop, While still being relateable to the professonial women targeted. 

Integrated Marketing Campaign

When developing a marketing campaign, I decided I wanted to go further than a simple marketing campaign.  I wanted to introduce, and test, the idea of a men's market on shopbop.com.  The accessories category contains many items that could be considered unisex.

Here we have the titled sexiest man alive, Ryan Gosling.  Not only is he the man of the moment, and year, but he is also a style icon.  He can be looked up to by stright and gay men, so it doesn't catagorize shopbops potential men's market just yet.

Ryan will meet with Shopbop's team of stylists and choose five of his favorite accessories offered on the site.  The stylists would then hold a photoshoot, and collaborate with Mr. Gosling to create a lookbook featuring his top five items.  This lookbook will then be featured on Shopbop's blog, twitter, and facebook.  The lookbook should also follow a marketing strategy outside shopbop, such as appearing in the NYT, GQ, and other top men's fashion blogs.  Depending on the reaction of the campaign, shopbop will then be able to decide on whether they can move into the men's market.

PLAN OF ACTION

As stated below, Shopbop needs to develop a better system of using metrics.

Shown above is Shopbop's report on Compete.com.  While the webtraffic has almost doubled over the last year, I believe there are improvements than can be made.

For starters, Metrics such as the ones listed below should be recorded and analyzed:

• New Visitor Conversion Rate
• Return Visitor Conversion Rate
• Pageviews/Visit
• Items/Order
• Average Order Value
• Landing Page Bounce Rates
• Landing Page Load Times
• Traffic Sources
• Orders Per Customer Per Year
• Average Time when Completing Check Outprocess
• Shopping Cart/Checkout Abandonment Rate
• Average Speed of Customer Service Response

Suggestions to improve CRM



1. Utilize SEO
2. Show Stock Availability when reaching low quantity.  This goes further than simply displaying sizes in stock, quantity should be displayed when under 5.
3. If customer is located outside the US, shipping charges should be displayed on item view page.  This should be known based on account information.
4. If a customer doesn't prefer to make an account, allow express checkout without enableing cookies to save information.  Explain why having an account is useful, but don't hinder sales because some customers don't feel comfortable creating an account.  If accounts are prefered, maybe start a program where customers can purchase sale items without the creation of an account.  A customer purchasing a sales item may think they are performing a one-time-only purchase from the company because they typically can't afford merchandise sold, therefore don't hinder them from doing so.
5. Provide contact information during checkout process, and create a 24 hour customer service line-even if it is a simple recording covering FAQs.
6. Send an email immediately once cart abandonment takes place. Ask questions such as "What went wrong", or "need help?", incase they did abandon on mistake.  Also include how long the item will stay reserved for the customer specifically AND how long the item will reamain in the cart.
7. Ask customers where they heard of Shopbop, this may give insight to improve the sight.
8. Create a mobile platform, AND mobile/tablet app. 
9. Create an exlusive line and possibly venture to the men's market. 

CPRF AND SCM

e-SCM

Shopbop has a team of buyers, who attend fashion and trade shows to view potential on-hand merchandise.  Through extensive industry analysis and past seasonal reports, they purchase merchandise to sell the following season.  While they maintain decent selection, they lack exclusivity.  Stylists of shopbop emphasize the merchandise by putting together seasonal lookbooks and short films. Maintaing their signature orange and white asthetic,  Their stylists do an impeccable job of e-merchandising, which ALMOST replaces the lack of sales associates to push and increase sales.  Only problem is the key word: ALMOST.  E-merchandising can only go so far.  They have the capitol and the means to create private label, which would provide exclusivity in this tough market.  Instead they remain boring and simply continue to buy the latest trends.

Warehouse and Replenishment

As mentioned previously, I believe the brick and mortar maintains sepearate warehouses than the e-commerce company.  I know the e-commerce company opperates their warehouse out of Madison, WI. near the company's headquarters.  Although I could not find information on whether they use programs such as ASR or JDA, I do know they employ a warehouse coordinator and for now, I'll assume they replenish items either manually or by contacting the manufacturer and having product shipped directly from there.

INNOVATIVE E-COMMERCE SYSTEMS

Although Shopbop operates as a seperate entity than Amazon, I strongly believe they could improve their analytics systems.  They don't utilize SEO, which could be very beneficial in e-tailing.  By taking record of customer shopping behavior, they should suggest items based on searches and item views.  Instead the company only suggests items based on what is being viewed at the moment.  By utilizing SEO and metric analytics, they could potential increase sales drastically which would increase their ROI.

BLOG CONTENT

BLOG: SHOPTALK

Shoptalk is the blog for Shopbop.com.  Content information covers everything from product information to current event information.  The blog features posts from various employees of shopbops headquarters including the buyers and stylists.  Shown above is the asthetics of the blog.  The title, "Shoptalk: unapologetically obsessed", is a perfect overview of the savy, enriched content multichanneling the e-commerce site. Linked to Facebook, twitter, and pinterest, readers have the ability to share content they like with their friends.  The only problem is, there aren't blatent links to the blog on the e-commerce sites, so the posts are lacking numbers when it comes to 'sharing'. As shown above, the banner contains links to various categorized content.  Ask Shop is a form where readers can ask questions regarding styling, and anything fashion related.  Find of the day is where their bloggers do daily posts on intems they want to feature.  Interviews is where they feature designers and styling posts are anything styling related (who would of thought?!).  One of my favorite posts is the one featured above, 5 smart investments for the recent college grad.  They do a lot of posts like these in the styling section, where they take 5 pieces and categorize them.  Listed below is the remaining content of that post:

A Trench Coat
Timeless and practical, a great trench coat will be with you well past your five-year reunion. Look for a classic silhouette, like styles from Madewell and Club Monaco, and a tailored fit that doesn’t add bulk.

A Black Blazer
For work, cocktails, interviews, and beyond, a black blazer is indisputably the most versatile wardrobe must-have. Pick a style with clean lines to keep it dateless, like the latest from Smythe and Theory.
A Leather Bag
Say goodbye to that beat-up messenger bag and invest in a logo-free leather tote that is presentable and goes with everything. Madewell and 3.1 Phillip Lim both offer a wide variety.

A Black Pump
The go-to shoe of the working world! A slim wedge offers day-long support, and there is no better friend to the foot than a padded footbed. Select a style from Jean-Michel Cazabat or Loeffler Randall.
A Silver Watch
A silver timepiece makes a professional and mature statement. Polished links and an un-adorned dial keep it sleek. Turn to Nixon and Michael Kors watches for affordable yet luxurious selections.

Featured to the right is 'contents of the blog'.  Featured here, but not on the banner, is a section called "the scene".  Here they take current events and create must have pieces the reader should considered.  Pictured below is the post they did for Coachella:

The Scene

Coachella Packing List: 8 Essentials

ALC maxi dress, LNA V-neck, Oliver Peoples sunglasses, Cleobella bag, Eugenia Kim fedora, Cali Dreaming bikini, Citizens of Humanity floral shorts, Osborn oxfords.

Coachella: three days of incredible music in the California sun. The equation to make it through the hours spent dancing in the heat? Airy fabrics, comfy shoes, and lots of sun protection. Here’s what’ll make it into my suitcase next weekend:

1. Bright Bikini: The number-one way to battle the heat is to keep the layers to a minimum.
2. Floral Cutoffs: A cooler take on the printed denim trend.
3. LNA Tee: The whisper fabric makes you feel like you’re wearing nothing at all.
4. Airy Maxi: A long hem feels so sweet in a gentle breeze.
5 & 6. Fedora & Sunnies: Sun protection at its chicest.
7. Easy Oxfords: Boots are a standard for this fest, but oxfords feel a little more fresh.
8. Earthy Messenger: A convenient carryall keeps hands free for dancing.

Shop more Coachella Essentials.

--Amie

TREND INFORMATION OFFERED TO CUSTOMERS

TREND INFORMATION

Shopbop displays an abundunce of information regarding current trends on their website.  Under the lookbooks section they always offer detailed lookbooks for each trend of the current season.  Aside from overall season trend information readily available to the viewer, Shopbop stylists compose catagorial trend lookbooks.  Shopping by trend is very easy for the consumer. A lacking aspect is the ability to shop by trends in the What's New section. Shopbop also isn't very creative on the merchandising aspect.  Merchandising by trend including all categorys may increase add on sales.  Or merchandising trend merchandise with basics that compliment the trend.  While Shopbop is great at providing the reader with lookbooks to give them trend ideas, they lack ideas while shopping merchandise before selecting individual pieces. The company employ stylists who do extensive research by attending fashion shows and paying attention to the current market.  These stylists compose the trend lookbooks for the site. Shown below is 'Six in rotation', a lookbook surronding the six essentials in our wardrobes of the moment.  Also shown is the Lookbook Index. The lookbook index is the library of all available lookbooks on the site.  Aside from the lookbooks composed by Shopbop's stylists, there are lookbooks from designer brands sold on the site, as well as seen on the runway. Short films from featured brands and shopbop stylists are also available.

Shown above allows the customer to shop everything new this season!

GLOBALIZATION

Shown above, Shopbop.com offeres their site in a chinese version.  The customer service representatives will accept emails in any language, but can only offer responses in english.

Featured above is all of the countries that shopbop will ship merchandise to.  The U.S. however is the only country that is free of shipping charges (some restrictions apply).

FRAUD/SECURITY PREVENTIONS & ETHICS

Image above taken directly from site in regards to security and fraud prevention.  Shopbop uses SSL software to prevent credit card theft.  This is a very important aspect in regards to CRM as well.  If a customer doesn't feel secure using their credit card on a website, then lost sales will increase tremendously and the companies ROI will decrease.

Pictured above is the questions answered in the privacy policy.  While shopbop does use javascript and cookies to track shopping behavior, it is only used to enhance the website regarding CRM.  Personal customer information is only for the websites use only, and is only shared if a thirdparty company is involved-such as address if merchandise is being shipped directly from the manufacturer.

E-COMMERCE VS BRICK AND MORTAR

Brick and Mortar: BOP LLC.

Address:  222 W Gorham St.

               Madison, WI 53703

Phone:    (608) 255-2570

 

Hours:     Mon-Fri 10 am - 8 pm

               Sat 10 am - 6 pm

               Sun 11 am - 5 pm

 

 Bop is the flagship, and only, brick and mortar store to Shopbop.com.  Bop was opened in 1999, as a 'test' for the e-commerce venture, according to founder and CEO,  Bob Lamey.  Due to the lack of square footage, Bop carries less on-hand merchandise than Shopbop.com and maintains lower merchandise assortment.  In 2006 when Amazon acquired Bop, LLC. their press release stated that the brick and mortar carriers just over 75 designers.  The e-commerce entity carries many more designers. The average price point is much lower as well, because the store doesn't cary the high fashion designer collections and the e-commerce company does. The store is located in Madison, WI so while their targeted customer is still fashion-savy, styles carried are still going to be more conservative than those of the e-commerce company.

The same goes for the overall asthetics of the brick and mortar vs. the ecommerce company.  The brick and mortar maintains a much more conservative, and outdated in my opinion, logo and design.  The e-commerce company operates very sleek, stylish web design for their store.  They represent the merchandise sold, where as the brick and mortar store design almost devaluizes the merchandise.  They don't operate any multichannel marketing concepts, as I had to perform extensive searches to even come across that there was a brick and mortar store.  Without research, you would never conclude the two are the same company.

E-Commerce: Shopbop.com

As shown above, the e-tailer maintains a much sleeker look.  Their signature orange and white logo shows no relation to the brick and mortar.

DIGITALIZATION

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When customers enter Shopbop.com a slideshow featuring new trends, products, featured designers/brands, and any other information addressed to the targeted customer is played.  The links outlined by the green boxes allow the customer to control how fast they prefer to move through the featured slide show. 






As shown in the photo to the right, is 'ad-like' links, located to the right of the item the shopper is currently viewing, that link to other Shopbop features.  The links lead to lookbooks, an 'invite friends' page, and the blog.

 

Shown above is a short film in the lookbook section.  Videos are shown on Shopbop from featured designers as well as the Shopbop Team. 

CONTROL

 

Customers are given extensive control when shopping on Shopbop.com.  For starters, the purple box highlights the banner that always appears at the top of the page when on Shopbop.  Here customers can choose to shop by designer, 'what's new', clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, boutiques, sale, or via lookbooks.  The green box highlights the customer's account box that will always appear at the top right of the page.  This links the specific customers favorite designers, favorite items, wish list items, and a link to their shopping cart.

 

Shown above is all of the drop-down boxes that appear anytime a customer moves their mouse to place the arrow over each option.  Shopbop provides an extensive list of subcategories for each major category.  It is rare for customers to have this much control over their shopping experience. As mentioned previously, customers also can view size charts while shopping.

 Also mentioned Previously, customers have the ability to control their email preferences when subscribing to email lists.

MEMORY

 Shopbop uses cookies to remember customers account information, as well as items in the shopping cart (as shown above in the blue outlined box on the photo to the right).

 Included in saved customer account information is previous purchases, wish list items, favorites (represented by Hearts on the website), previous reviews made, and email preferences.

INTERACTIVITY

 

Shopbop allows customers to create their own personalized accounts. Here, they are given the option to save personal information such as credit card info, addresses, delivery preferences, favorites, wish list items, reviews, etc.  This facilitates their shopping experience by eliminating the need to reenter information in the future.  By saving their personal data, customers are given express checkout options in the future, which allows the customer to check out with the simple click of a button.

 Customers can choose whether they want to subscribe to emails.  They also are given options to customize their email preferences.  Here, the customer may choose how often they choose to revieve emails and what content they want emailed to them.

 If customers have any questions, the customer service page is easily accessible.  Here they are given a phone number with times Customer Service Reps are available, as well as an email address or a live chat option.

While shopping, Shopbop offers a size chart for customers to use if they are not sure what size to order, or how the item runs (left photo above).Upon completing a purchase Shopbop contacts customers after scheduled delivery asking for feedback on items purchased (right photo above). 

ADDRESSABILITY

Shopbop always addresses their customers with a current slideshow upon entering the site.  The slide show could be showcasing a new designer lookbook, new trend, new products, new promotion, etc. They target young to established professional women who could also be categorized as a 'fashion enthusiast'. The slideshow above was on the home page prior to mothers day. Four mothers who work for Shopbop shared their Mother's Day Wishlists.

As shown above, Shopbop suggests items when shopping. A wide spectrum of additions and alternative products is suggested to the customer when shopping for a given item.  Here, we have a customer viewing Joe's Jeans' shorts.  Shopbop suggests a minimalistic gladiator sandal to complete the look. Also suggested are more options from the brand category (here, we have Joe's Jeans), alternatives in the denim category, and 'Editor's Picks'.

 Shoptalk is Shopbop's Blog.  Blog posts consist of trend info, designer info, and other information provided to relate to the targeted customer.