L.L. Bean: The Way Forward
- 1. L.L. Bean and The Way Forward Reworking, Rebranding while Remaining on Top
- 2. Current Strengths • Brand Identity • Customer Service – Maintain prominence – Emphasize and of L.L. Bean name continue to live up to with current customers current standards – Build identity with new – Improve recognition of target market other services
- 3. Areas for Improvement • Recognition of brand by younger demographic • Identification with brand by younger demographic • Recognition of brand as comparable to other contemporary outdoor/sportswear labels
- 4. Proposal • Maintain elements of class while rebranding L.L. Bean for the younger demographic • Raise awareness of L.L. Bean’s “green” practices to increase buying incentive with current customers • Reallocate advertising budget for increased SEO and internet marketing strategy
- 5. Rebranding L.L. Bean • Adapt image to resonate with younger demographic – Increase sense of adventure in targeted online ads – Build identity to compete with (and build equal comparison to) Marmot, Patagonia, The North Face, etc.
- 6. Emphasize Environmental Policy • Raise awareness of current environmental practices to increase liking with current customers – Office paper and packaging made of 30% post consumer waste recycled content – Company recycles 83% of waste – Use of solar collectors to run facilities (100% of propane use cut in warmer months)
- 7. Metrics + Evaluation • Google Analytics – Conversion rate (to determine the demographic we should be targeting and realign strategy if necessary) – Focus on unique visitors (to differentiate from catalogue’s repeat visitors) – Bounce rate (to calculate browsing vs. ordering)
- 8. Advertising + Budget • Current deal with Idea Sales City stands at $40 million Brand – Spread budget out Identity across varied media New – Continue push into Media Success YouTube, Facebook, e Analysis tc. Catalogue – Analyze success of new strategy, reform if needed
- 9. Targeting + Timing • Institute strategy in time for the holidays • 46% of consumers plan to use search engines for holiday shopping this year • 50% of consumers will begin shopping before December for the holidays • There is a 5% increase in shoppers using social media for their holiday shopping • Search query volume is up 46% over last year
- 10. What to Look Forward to… • As we monitor market trends and L.L. Bean site metrics, we can compare the figures to holiday traffic to prove the success of the strategies and adjust to areas that need to be tweaked.