1. Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

2. Overview Introduction Company Overview Marketing Challenges Response to Marketing Challenges Evaluation Conclusion Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

3. Introduction Borders, a long time brick & mortar bookseller, realizing the opportunity presented with the dot com era, decided to launch an online bookstore Borders has for a long time been viewed as a friendly and comfortable place for relaxing and browsing through literature How can this personable atmosphere be conveyed in an online store as well? Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

4. Borders Overview 1971, Tom and Louis Borders opened a used book store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and called it Borders Book Shop 1992, Kmart buys Borders, and forms the Borders- Walden Group 1995, Borders buys itself from Kmart and changes name to Borders Group Borders holds position of the second largest bricks & mortar bookseller in the United States 1998 Borders decides to launch Borders.com Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

5. Marketing Challenges The initial 1998 launch of Borders.com was a money pit The end of the first fiscal year produced $4.6 million in online sales, leading to an net loss of $10.5 million What did customers want to see in an online bookstore? How could Borders accurately portray the feel of a brick & mortar bookstore through the internet? Borders needed to establish a trusting relationship with consumers Dot com era was still relatively new What incentive do people have to input their information on Borders.com, when they’ve already given their data to Amazon.com? Borders needed to set itself apart from other online booksellers Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

6. Initial Response to Marketing Challenges 2001, realizing its failing attempt to capture the online market, Borders opted to close down Borders.com for a partnership with Amazon.com January 2008, in order to stay competitive, Borders ended the partnership with Amazon.com and reopened Borders.com The new Borders.com would be designed to provide a comfortable and unique atmosphere not offered by other online booksellers. Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

7. New Response to Marketing Challenges Build customer trust Waiting until 2008 to launch Borders.com Attaching the Borders name to Amazon.com Improve CRM, pay attention to what customers want What were consumer buying behaviors on Amazon.com? How did customers behave in the brick & mortar stores? Improve customer loyalty In 2006, Borders instituted the Borders Rewards program Integrated the rewards program with the website, giving customers a reason to make multiple purchases on Borders.com Innovate Borders prides itself on the bookstore experience. On the new Borders.com, the company tries to mimic the bookstore feel with features such as the “Magic Shelf” Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

8. Evaluation Understanding customer needs and behavior Through observation of customer data, Borders gained an understanding of what customers wanted and needed in an online bookseller Formulate a strategy to fill needs Using customer data, Borders managed to create a website that can provide customers with a bookstore experience without having to leave home Implement effectively and efficiently Waiting so long to implement an effective strategy gave competitors such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com time to establish their dominance in the industry Build a trusting relationship with customers Borders new website creates a unique experience that customers can only get through Borders.com, and in combination with the rewards program, Borders.com has the potential to create many loyal customers Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008

9. Questions? Owen Hendershot UMFK 2008