One of the most important attributes of this website is that the marketing department is in a position to engage with the audience who comes across the wide range of products displayed in the website. For instance, the site has been integrated with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. It is crucial to mention that any effective marketing campaign should be interactive enough so that the views, opinions as well as individual tastes and preferences of customers can be known. However, the social networking sites should have been linked to individual cluster of products so that visitors to the site can share and comment on them. In addition, the social networking sites enable the company to regularly monitor online reactions and propose changes in necessary areas.
Second, users of the site can easily navigate through the tabs especially when searching for particular information. In other words, the general layout of the website is simple and appealing to the eye. Better still, the color is mild enough to accommodate the tastes of different categories of the targeted customers. Website layout is a crucial ingredient when a site is employed in marketing products of a company.
Third, the flashing images of products manufactured and sold by the company have made the site more lively and attractive to the eyes. Such a dynamic layout of a website makes it easy to attract and retain the attention of visitors once they land on the site. Since the whole platform revolves around marketing various product offerings of the company, the latter ought to be displayed well on the website. Needless to say, several products offered by the firm have been displayed in the website using both still and flashing images. On the other hand, some portions (within the flashing images) are overcrowded with products. This makes it quite cumbersome for users to have an adequate time to view the products on offer.
In the “about us” section, the site provides clear information to visitors regarding the establishment and major milestones of the company. For instance, the company has been in the market for over 100 years (having been established way back in 1903). Besides, it states that it has a culture of innovation and developing iconic brands in its holdings. These are powerful marketing terms that can indeed persuade the targeted customers to buy products from the company. The firm also markets itself as among the well-established consumer-packaged goods manufacturer in both Canada and the United States. Needless to say, this type of information provides the much-needed overview of the company so that visitors to the site can develop a deeper trust before deciding to make their purchases (Tsiotsou, Rigopoulou & Kehagias, 2010).
Another visible strength of this website as a marketing tool is the instantaneous stock market performance at any given minute. This information is clearly displayed at the central top position of each page. As a result, visitors and potential customers to the site can immediately understand the performance of the company in relation to other competitors. This type of transparency and availing crucial data increases customers’ trust and public reputation of the company and eventually markets the manufacturer in a better manner.
In spite of the above strengths of the website as a marketing tool, there are still a number of things that can be done to improve its efficiency. To begin with, the various products listed in the site have not been described in terms of their unique benefits or functionality (Kim & Lennon, 2013). Offering brief individual product descriptions can enlighten customers and other potential buyers and immediately persuade their buying decisions. For example, it might be cumbersome for a new consumer to understand what a product like “Cool Whip” is all about. Brief descriptions and nutritional benefits of each consumer product are crucial in order to enlighten buyers.
Second, the “quick links” section contains the most invaluable marketing information for this company. Some of the important data include food and family magazine, collaborating with Kraft as well as products and recipes. In spite of the relevance of this section, it has been positioned on the lowest section of the page. Hence, visitors to the site can easily dismiss such information as irrelevant or inconsequential to the company. Therefore, there is need to reorganize various links to the site and make sure that marketing information takes the largest portion and equally appear first in each web page.
Finally, the website does not contain any running product promotion or sales event. Since the site is dedicated to marketing products offered by the company, promotional sales events should always be available. When visitors are bombarded with messages on special offers for specific products, their attention to marketing details is increased (Budd, 2012). Moreover, the website may also include an online store whereby customers can purchase products directly without visiting physical stores. An online buying portal can work well with customers who do not have enough time to visit stores in their actual locations.
References
Budd, B. Q. (2012). Website data and uses for strategic marketing – A commercial experience. International Journal of Management & Information Systems, 16(3), 239.
Kim, J., & Lennon, S. J. (2013). Effects of reputation and website quality on online consumers’ emotion, perceived risk and purchase intention. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 7(1), 33-56.
Tsiotsou, R. H., Rigopoulou, I. D., & Kehagias, J. D. (2010). Tracing customer orientation and marketing capabilities through retailers’ websites: A strategic approach to internet marketing. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 18(2), 79-94.