E-Business

Borders Group Inc. has consistently proved their marketing strategy is successful. They are the #2 bookstore operating in the United States according to Yahoo Finance. (2007) The company has more than 1200 retail stores in the United States where books, music, videos and DVDs are sold. The prices at Borders are consistent with other bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. To entice customers to shop with Borders the company started the Borders Rewards Programs to help build customer loyalty by providing Borders Bucks for every $150 spent. Also coupons and exclusive offers are provided to Borders Rewards members. The program provides more frequent payouts than in the past to a broader range of customers. Another big part of the marketing strategy is to provide a comfortable relaxing environment in today's fast-paced world. For starters Borders combined with Seattle Coffee in 2004 so that customers could relax in the cafÐ"© or shop for hours. (Borders company website, 2007) Another of Borders' retail strategies is to provide the same shopping experience at every Borders Store. One of the key initiatives to this is called "Title Sleuth", which is an interactive self-help computer station to search for any book, music or video title. The search can be accessed in the store or online and has been proving to be successful with the recent accolades Borders has received. Borders Group, Inc was named number 66 in the "top 10 most innovative companies in building profitable and successful customer relationships in recently released Innovation 100 research by InformationWeek and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young." (PR Newswire, 2007). In previous years, Borders bookstores became well known for their bookstores, Waldenbooks, which were located in malls. The latest strategy started in 2006 is to close these mall stores and focus on superstores. The on-line environment will also be improved by building relationships with other online partners