- Ways through Which Thermos Can Build Closer Relationship with Customers on the Internet
Thermos can use the online technology to build closer relationships with the customers through various ways. First, it can come up with successful designs for its website. In determining the type of website design to employ, Thermos can consider the following components: the marketing or customer focus, security, navigation efficiency, business content and the page-loading speed (Khan and Shahzad 11).
Under the page-loading speed, Thermos can work to increase the speed by keeping the graphics meaningful and simple, limiting the use of animations or requirements of multimedia plug-in, using thumbnails and providing ‘text-only’ choice. Others include using progressive rendering and checking monitoring the internet route and server.
For the business content, Thermos can provide useful information such as contact on every page and use concise and clear texts with correct grammar and spelling describing the business. For navigation efficiency, Thermos can avoid suing frames, but use well labeled and accurate links. Additionally, it can keep the navigation consistent and use distinctive hot buttons.
For security, it can strive to promote the copyrights and stress on the security use. For customer and market focus, Thermos can provide as many alternatives of payment as possible, use auto responders and be upfront concerning then business practices.
Thermos can also use the APID model of Attracting, Positioning, Informing and Delivering to promote effectiveness of the website and promote a closer relationship with customers online (Sinisalo, Salo, Karjaluoto, and Leppäniemi 12). For attracting, Thermos can use banner advertisements. For positioning, it can use discounted prices and provide a variety of prices. For informing, it can develop a suitable graphical interface and promote the user-friendliness. Lastly, for delivery, Thermos can use warranties and after-sales services, different modes of payment, security, privacy, downloading time and customer support.
Thermos can employ a variety of customer service components like placing orders, payment options, shipping information, returns, interactive service and web policy. The preferred methods of contacting the customers can be through toll-free numbers, e-mails, self-help on the website and automated touch-tone services.
- Other Products
The general conception is that more men use outdoor grills than the women do. As such, the other products should focus more on the men as the target consumer or market segment. Some of these products include rakes, leaf blowers, trash cans and lawn mowers among others. Other products could be stainless steel mugs because the mugs could maintain the temperature of the beverage as someone is using their outdoor grills. Additionally, barbecue kits with mitts, forks and tongs could be another possible product.
If thermos had asked the thought of consumers, concerning having them put the grills together rather than buying them assembled, it would have had varied responses. In my view, I think the response would be that there are some of the customers who wish to assemble their grills themselves. Moreover, if it would be cheaper assembling the grills by themselves, then they would prefer it that way. On the other hand, there are those who would prefer the grills assembled for them because of their conception that it might be involving to assemble it themselves.
Other questions that Thermos might ask includes questions on the prevalence of some products or the desire of the customers for products in various uses like for cooking or cleaning and the tools involved for the same.
Works Cited
Khan, Muhammad A., and Muhammad A. Shahzad. "Managing Customer Relationships On The Tnternet." (2005): Web.
Sinisalo, Jaakko, Jari Salo, Heikki Karjaluoto, and Matti Leppäniemi. "Managing Customer Relationships through Mobile Medium - Underlying Issues and Opportunities." (2006): Print.
