Analysis of Marketing Effectiveness
Marketing Effectiveness Analysis – Retail and Non-Profit Sectors
Marketing effectiveness is defined as the ability of an organization to reach its marketing
objectives while taking into account the organization’s resource constraints. A website 's marketing
effectiveness can be determined by a number of different factors including value proposition,
segmentation and positioning strategies, on-site personalization elements, the site’s ability to drive
traffic, user engagement, reassurance elements, integration of services, and the “fit” of informational
content with the goals of the site. In this paper, both the retail-apparel and non-profit sectors are
analyzed to determine which factors are most critical in determining the marketing effectiveness of an
online site. Both sectors are also analyzed to highlight the similarities and differences among marketing
effectiveness factors.
The Retail-Apparel Industry Sector
The US retail-apparel industry consists of approximately 100,000 stores with a combined annual
revenue of around $150 billion. This industry is comprised of many large companies such as The TJX
Companies, Inc. (TJ Maxx, Marshalls), Gap, Limited Brands, Ross, and Abercrombie & Fitch. The industry
is concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for roughly 65 percent of industry revenue. Globally,
the only US-owned company to make the top 5 companies in the industry is The TJX Companies, Inc.,
with annual sales of approximately 20 billion dollars (www.hoovers.com). Large companies in this
sector compete by offering wide selections of clothing, utilizing their advantages in purchasing,
distribution, and marketing, whereas small (niche) stores compete by offering unique merchandise,
targeting specific demographics, providing superior customer service, selling online, or simply serving a
local market (www.firstresearch.com).
Personal income and fashion trends drive demand for retail apparel; as
Marketing effectiveness is defined as the ability of an organization to reach its marketing
objectives while taking into account the organization’s resource constraints. A website 's marketing
effectiveness can be determined by a number of different factors including value proposition,
segmentation and positioning strategies, on-site personalization elements, the site’s ability to drive
traffic, user engagement, reassurance elements, integration of services, and the “fit” of informational
content with the goals of the site. In this paper, both the retail-apparel and non-profit sectors are
analyzed to determine which factors are most critical in determining the marketing effectiveness of an
online site. Both sectors are also analyzed to highlight the similarities and differences among marketing
effectiveness factors.
The Retail-Apparel Industry Sector
The US retail-apparel industry consists of approximately 100,000 stores with a combined annual
revenue of around $150 billion. This industry is comprised of many large companies such as The TJX
Companies, Inc. (TJ Maxx, Marshalls), Gap, Limited Brands, Ross, and Abercrombie & Fitch. The industry
is concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for roughly 65 percent of industry revenue. Globally,
the only US-owned company to make the top 5 companies in the industry is The TJX Companies, Inc.,
with annual sales of approximately 20 billion dollars (www.hoovers.com). Large companies in this
sector compete by offering wide selections of clothing, utilizing their advantages in purchasing,
distribution, and marketing, whereas small (niche) stores compete by offering unique merchandise,
targeting specific demographics, providing superior customer service, selling online, or simply serving a
local market (www.firstresearch.com).
Personal income and fashion trends drive demand for retail apparel; as
Cited: Blackbaud, (2010). “2010 State of the Nonprofit Industry Survey: North America Survey Results”(online). Retrieved from Web on October 19, 2010: http://www.blackbaud.com/files/resources/ downloads/Research_SONI_NorthAmericanResults.pdf