Wanelo
The introduction of the report contains a brief explanation as to why it was necessary for this report to be written. It goes on further, introduces Wanelo as the company in general, and outlines what the company does to be able to bring out its significance to Green Golf Supplies if chosen. Finally, the introduction outlines how Wanelo as an ecommerce company works.
The second part of the essay points out the benefits that Fairways & Green Golf Supplies stand to benefit from if they incorporate Wanelo into their marketing strategy.
The next section involves examining of the negative parts of Wanelo, how they are likely to affect the company as well as what the company can likely do to be able to mitigate the negatives that may come with adopting the use of Wanelo.
The final section of the essay contains the conclusion as well as the recommendations available for the company. The conclusion includes a summary of all that was researched on Wanelo. The recommendation part includes the suggestions given to the company that will not only help it integrate with Wanelo but also come out successful in the end.
This is the report on the benefits of incorporating Wanelo into the marketing strategy of Fairways & Green Golf Supplies, as per the company’s request. The importance of this study is to examine Wanelo as a potential strategy for our company outlining the pros as well as the cons that may be involved in this situation. If the marketing strategy is found suitable, the report outlines the steps needed in the incorporation of the new marketing strategy.
Started in 2010 and based in San Francisco, USA, Wanelo is an e-commerce website like any other that specializes in the sell of almost anything. However, there is a special uniqueness about this site. Unlike other e-commerce websites, this one has a social aspect to it making it a social shopping website. People go to this site to browse for the products they need then buy that particular product. Thus, while it has a social website ring to it, people do not socialize with other people on this site. In lieu of this, the company’s name Wanelo was derived from a mash up of the words; want, need, love, which is the essence of the company (Clancy, 2013, p.1).
This site enables individuals to upload pictures for the items that they would wish to sell and unlike other sites like eBay, the process is free. Thus, the site has a hundred percent focus on the product and how to access the product if a buyer wanted it. The website not only allows the purchase of products but also allows the users to follow and keep up with trends while allowing them access to be able to purchase those specific trends.
By the month of may this year, the company boasted of up to eight million registered users up from the one million users that the site had had in November of last year. The CEO of the company, Varshavskaya is quoted to have said that the main aim of the company was to unite shoppers with products as well as stores on the same platform where they can interact. Having established exactly what Wanelo is it is important to know how the website functions.
The functioning of the website has been likened to that of a wish list that that includes a wider variety of products as well as a larger selection of retailers. Once a consumer signs on with the site they are presented with a number of trendy choices from which they can choose from, if what they want is not among the trends, they can directly search for it. Once, they find whatever they are looking for they can click on the item. Clicking on the item has a number of implications. The first is that the item will be directly traceable back to the retailer where then a purchase can be made. The users also get access to feeds on the site that inform them of what is currently trending. How this is established is that the site allows people to click on the things they like which translate to the creation of a list of things that an individual likes. The more people like a specific thing, the most likely the fact that that particular product is trending (Angulo, 2013,p.1).
Currently, Wanelo is among the most popular sites in America. The site is always active with an estimate engage analysis of sixty tweets per minute on an average day. This means that the target market for this marketing strategy is already engaged. The company has been able to use the internet as its major source of drive.
It is estimated that approximately over 200,000 stores, both big as well as small retailers, work with the site (Madden, 2013,p.1). This means that the site already has a big foundation from which our company would benefit from joining.
Once a product has been introduced into the site, the product company is able to monitor the popularity of their product by monitoring how many people have clicked on it. This is because clicking on the item translates to liking the item or at least showing an interest in the item. With information such as this, the company would be able to stock up as well as increase marketing on products that trending or which the customers are interested in buying.
The site has been created to maximize the expose of a particular product to the population in general. This is because, the site has a built-in facebook application that allows a persons friend to be aware of what that person clicks on or likes on the site. This maximizes exposure by allowing that particular persons friends and acquaintances to view this like, thus, creating room for the product to trend where possible.
The site has no restrictions to the kind of products that one is able to access on their site. Thus, a company like ours that deals with golf suppliers can also use the site as a marketing strategy.
The growth of the site itself is a testament in itself. This is because, since its inception, the company has experienced exponential growth. The company has been able to attract such loud crowds by linking itself with the most popular social media. Joining the site means that the more shoppers that the site attracts the more these people are likely to view the company’s products (Leahey, 2013, p.1). More exposure translates to more sales.
Finally, the site does not deal with commerce as far as the customers are concerned. Once the customer has been directed to the product and made a purchase, the company gets to deal with the products company where they get a commission from the sale. This is important for it eliminates companies having to pay to be able to post their products on the site then having to pay a commission of the product is sold. In essence, the site saves on the company’s finances.
Some of the negatives of using Wanelo
A number of hurdles that the company is likely to run into when dealing with Wanelo include the target market as well as interest. The firsts is target market. According to reports done not only Wanelo but also other companies, the largest target market interested in the website is the pre-teen as well as the teen market. These two groups are interested in so many things; however, golfing may not be one of their favorite or priority activities (Nick, 2013,p.1). This means that even is the company was to use the site; these two groups would not take an interest in the product. The best way to counter such a counter such an obstacle is to create a golfing product that is likely to capture the interest of these two groups. Once a product is out there and it is trending, then it is more likely that the brand name will remain on the top of the game. The second suggestion would be to focus on the men and women who form part of the smaller Wanelo market but who are in essence the people who provide the money for the company’s largest market segment.
The second hurdle that the company is likely to face in the site is with regards to the interest in the product. According to studies conducted on the site, the products that trend the most include those that involve clothing or footwear. In this case, if the company wants to succeed in this type of market then the company would have to come up with a strategy that involves the placing trending golfing wear. The key is to produce a product that is so remarkable that it instantly trends. Once the product has trended, meaning that it is popular with a section of the sites subscribers then the brand name will be established.
Finally, due to the trending nature of smart phones and app store, other companies are likely to invest in those mobile apps which may then pull the subscribers from the website. The threat of other businesses stealing one’s customers is always likely. In this case, the company should also be smart enough not to solely use the site but rather use it as a launching pad to develop a brand name and if possible create an app that s likely to attract customer from the site. This is also because of the fact that if most if not all individual product retailers is able to establish mobile apps for themselves, the function of Wanelo would cease to exist.
The initial implementation of Wanelo
The implementation of Wanelo is very important. If the company chooses to go ahead with the marketing strategy, the first step that needs to be taken is the selection of the items that the company feels would best describe the company. The items have to be able to capture an audience either because of their nature or because of their uniqueness. Once the items have been selected, the product will then be added onto the Wanelo website which automatically creates a store for our brand.
There will be the need to set up a personal account for the company. Once this is set up, then the product images are posted posting the URL of the product. Once posted, a buy now button is made available that is able to link a product purchase to the company’s ecommerce website. The only other relevant information needed for the set up of a successful Wanelo set is the price of the item as well as the category in which the products fit (Wortham, 2013, p.1). Currently, there are only six categories available which include; individual men and women fashion, home, kids, entertainment and technology. It is important to note that for this venture to be successful, there has to be an ecommerce website, belonging to the company, where the purchasers and go ahead and purchase the product.
In this case, the company can create sales via the site by being able to communicate with shoppers regarding different styles and collections as well as the analysis of the shoppers as to which tastes are preferable. This will enable the shoppers know what to sell. It is important to put the different shoppers’ styles into consideration by creating different collections.
Wanelo, as an ecommerce company has truly come a long way in such a long time. not only has the company been able to break and enter into a market that had for a long period been for a long period dominated by big companies such as eBay but in doing so they have been able to come out at the top. The company has ensured that it is able to fuse both the need to share socially along with the need to shop to create a product that has been able to attract a large number of people. Finally, by creating a platform where the buyer, product and retailers can freely meet and by removing hurdles presented by similar companies in such markets, Wanelo is the company to go to for any business needs due to their ability to provide versatility not only for the purchaser but also for the retailer under one ‘website’.
Wanelo is a good opportunity for the company to be able to sell our products. Currently, the largest market segment for the site is the tweens as well as the teens. However, there is a growing list of older women as well as men interested in the site. The first step to successfully internalizing Wanelo is to be able to create a brand on the market. The purchasers’ should be able to know that there is a brand, that specializes in golf supplies but which has created different styles to suite all market segments that visit the site including men, women and children of all ages and sizes. Once this is set up and established, it is important that the company engage in conversations with the customers to be able to identify with current golfing trends. This will create a happy and satisfied customer base as well creating more marketing for the brand.
Leahey, Colleen. "Why Your Teen Loves Wanelo." Fortune 167.8 (2013): 52. Business Source Complete. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Madden, Samantha. Wanelo: A new website that lets people buy products online. Pattonville TODAY. http://pattonvilletoday.com/wanelo-a-new-website-that-lets-people-buy-products-online/. 2013. 20 September 2013
Angulo, Natalia. Wanelo, Next verb in Digital Dictionary. Fox Business. http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2013/07/26/wanelo-next-verb-in-digital-dictionary/. 2013. 20 September 2013
Clancy, Heather. What’s Wanelo, Why small retailers should care. ZDNet. http://www.zdnet.com/whats-wanelo-why-small-retailers-should-care-7000017785/. 2013. 20 September 2013
Nick. Ultimate Guide to Wanelo for Retailers(and why it matters). Wishpond. http://corp.wishpond.com/blog/2012/09/04/the-ultimate-guide-to-wanelo-and-why-it-matters/. 2013. 20 September 2013
Wortham, Jenna. Wanelo: Social Commerce Site is big with young shoppers. The new York times. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/a-look-at-wanelo-a-social-commerce-site-for-younger-shoppers/?_r=2. 2013. 20 September 2013
