Gander Mountain has a tremendous website. Not only is it easy to navigate from page to page, but it also catches the viewers eye. Many of the pages on their website will have suggestions, consumer reviews, and knowledge about the specific product. They also list alternative products that would also fill the consumer’s needs.
They have an interesting way the company utilizes e-business, has a specific target market for a variety of products, as well as filling the consumers needs. The company’s website also follows quite a few of the concepts described in our textbook. AnalysisSince Gander Mountain has had great success in their brick and mortar stores, their online sales have immensely helped their bottom line at the end of every fiscal year. This is through their utilization of e-business, their products, and also their target market. Form of E-businessAccording to our textbook, Gander Mountain’s website is a business – to – consumer website. They use the internet to connect their company directly to consumers where they can purchase products and have them shipped.
This increases access and convenience, as well as a personalized service to the consumer. They also use marketing promotions on their website for promotional sales both in their store fronts and online. (Boone/Kurtz, 2012) This will generate higher click rates as well as increase revenue for the company. Gander Mountain also utilizes their website to provide the consumer with corporate information. Target MarketGander Mountain has a very interesting target market. Overall, they cater to consumers that have a passion for the outdoors.
They also target consumers have hobbies of hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and other outdoor related activities. Gander Mountain has departments in each of these areas of interests, so each store has a philosophy of bringing top customer service to their customers. (Gander Mountain Website, 2012) These departments each have their own target market as well as who their “ideal” customer is. Consumer NeedsGander Mountain can be a one stop shop for a consumer to gather everything they need to get involved in their interest.
These products also have fairly high quality across the range of products in their stores and available online. It can also help generate a lifetime loyal customer. Overall, Gander Mountain does a fantastic job of finding out what exactly the consumer wants to do, making recommendations on these products, and then showing the customer how to get started in their area of interest. (Gander Mountain Website, 2012) DiscussionWhat can be Done Differently and Opportunities Gander mountain does an enormous job overall of marketing their products, however there are some changes that could be made. One thing they could change would be to provide packaged products to the consumer. The customer would be able to get in and out of the store fairly quickly knowing they have everything they need.
Another thing they could do on their website is redesign it for more consumer activity. Currently reviews are offered, but allowing blog post, magazine reviews, and other items would give Gander Mountain a competitive edge against other outdoor sporting goods stores. (Gander Mountain Website, 2012)Gander Mountain also has opportunities available to them. One of these opportunities would be to offer vacations and trips to the consumer directly from their website and store. These could be outdoor adventures such as fishing trips and hunting trips. Another opportunity to explore would be to expand their indoor academy to other Gander Mountain stores, as well as offer online classes in a variety of topics.
Textbook ConceptsGander Mountain uses several of the concepts described in our textbook on their website. One of these is the use of banner – ads which display current promotions and sales. They also offer a search tool to quickly locate the product that the consumer is looking for. This search also displays other products that might fit the consumer’s needs and desires. Gander Mountain also utilizes consumer reviews currently.
ConclusionOverall, I was very impressed with Gander Mountain’s website. The website was visually appealing to the consumer and straightforward to navigate. There are a few slight changes that could be made to increase their effectiveness of their website, but it provides the consumer with a lot of information about the company. It also provides a way for consumers to purchase products from Gander Mountain if they are not located near one of their brick and mortar stores.
