Zappos Case Analysis free essay sample

USA Today has been an innovative way for customers to receive news on a daily basis since 1982. Their innovation lies within the format of their bright, colorful and eye-catching paper, as well as in their shorter pieces that help to enlighten consumers without over powering them. Owned by Gannett Co. Inc. , a diversified international news, information and communications company, USA Today has every possibility of furthering their success in the news industry. Executive Summary: In reading Case 1, USA Today: Innovation in an Evolving Industry*, it became apparent that USA Today is fighting to stay relevant in today’s news distribution culture. Currently USA Today is still operating with increasing profit margins, however they are losing touch with their intended cliental of Middle Americans. From 1982 until today, USA Today has been able to create a product which is able to adapt to the needs of it’s cliental, but their recent plateau and minor decrease in circulation, could send them into a spiral. We will write a custom essay sample on Zappos Case Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page An increase in technologically savvy consumers, and the fight to produce the most up to date app to appease them places USA Today in a rat race against other leading market competitors. USA Today must push to the next level the fight to remain innovative, as they have for the last thirty years, in meeting their customer’s needs in new and unexpected ways. Their chances to stay on top of their game and innovation will significantly increase f they continue to adapt their marketing strategies, as well as continue their use of value-added strategy to further enhance distribution of its proprietary content and ensure continued product differentiation. Situation Analysis: Internal: Since the first issue of USA Today launched on September 15, 1982, it has been an uphill battle for the company to fight to sustain their relevance and importance in the news world. The newspaper created a mission statement that explained their goal to make the newspaper enlightening, and Enjoyable to the public, informative to national leaders, and attractive to advertisers. More or less, USA Today wanted to create an all-encompassing newspaper for the country to enjoy. From an internal standpoint, the employees of USA Today worked hard to give their readers what they wanted. With an all American staff and little coverage of the outside world, USA Today continued to meet the demands of their customers and fill the gap in the newspaper market. USA Today’s loyal employee base allows them to be quick, innovative and typically the first to make a splash in the news industry. Their late hours for submission allows the company to send out the most current and up to date news, while still providing an outstanding standard of service that helps to achieve reoccurring customers. With employees that listen and take time to understand what the reader wants, USA Today has been able to flourish economically. Customer Environment: The overwhelming majority of USA Today’s circulation is within the United states. Most of the readers work in middle- to upper management positions and are often purchasing decision makers for their offices and households, as well as technology junkies and sports fans. Most of USA Today’s customers participated in a wide range o leisure activities such as attending movies and traveling. The print newspaper’s readers are 69% male and 31% female, with a median age of 50 and a median household income of $91,683. For USA today. com the audience is balanced between men and women, and the median age for readers is only 30 years old. Customers of USA Today are drawn in by the bright colors, short stories and ability to cover important news happening in their country. External Environment: The external environment is what really holds USA Today at a standstill. While, they are still producing print copies and having millions of daily readers- their competition is fierce. Fighting for number one positions against newspapers such a The Wall Street Journal, as well as The New York times leaves USA Today in a bind to find creative ways to stay in contact with their customers. The surge of use of technology, on top of instant access to news all across the world via the Internet for free, has potential to hurt not only USA Today’s print readership, but their online as well. Other external factors that have potential to deplete USA Today’s loyal customer base are things like: cable networks, nationally syndicated terrestrial and satellite radio providers such as Sirius/XM, and even blog sites. It’s going to be important for USA Today to find a niche within all of these potential threats, and once again make a name for itself as a product that can provide something different. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: †¢Loyal customer base of consumers who have consistently purchased USA Today over the last 30 years. †¢USA Today is distributed in all 50 states, Canada and the UK; reaching a wide fan base †¢Known for easy to read, easy to comprehend and up to date news †¢Ability to adapt with changes in technology, i. e putting their newspaper online Weakness †¢Decrease circulation; due to competitors †¢Decrease profits; due to decrease in circulation †¢High cost of printing; bright colors and pictures on every page cost money †¢Printing deadline is 4 hours before WSJ; WSJ will get more up-to-date news for their issues †¢Forced to downsize maintain profits- harmed image Opportunity †¢Generate more revenue by partnering with other websites, like Hampton †¢The creation of a top of the line mobile application †¢Customizable app for your phone/tablet Threats †¢NY Times Wall Street Journal †¢Network and Cable TV †¢TV news websites †¢AM/Satellite Radio †¢Negative online reviews †¢Declining AD revenue Goals, Objectives and Solution: After reading the case it’s apparent that our goal needs to push USA Today in the direction of reinventing themselves as not only a newspaper, but a multimedia application. In order to take USA Today to the next level of a multi-media application several things have to happen. The first thing that needs to happen in order for USA Today to be once again taken as a serious threat, is the need to up the anti by actually creating an app that is accessible to all smart phones, tablets and even the newest rage of â€Å"smart televisions. † The app that USA today needs to create should incorporate the other apps they have out now (games, gas prices, travel prices) and provide an easy to use way for their consumers to access the news, etc. While, the app should remain a â€Å"free app,† something should be put in place that requires the user to pay X amount of dollars either a month, or year, in order to obtain full access to the entire app. By doing this, not only are you bringing in past loyal customers, but creating a new consumer base by offering unique options. Our goal is to take USA Today’s bright and creative ways, and mold them into something that technology junkies can use on a daily basis and receive the same amount of information as if they were subscribed to actual print copies. The way we keep USA Today relevant is by keeping up with things that are actually relevant to their consumers, and technology is a consistent winner. An added bonus to creating a successful application, would be the stimulation of interest for advertising partnerships to be forms. With a formation of these partnerships, USA Today could begin to generate generous profits by selling advertisements to companies that would be accessible on their app. Thus the solution to the decline in readership for USA Today is to take it to the next level and provide outstanding DIGITAL service to their customers.