Hal's Woodworking Case Study

Creating an online store would allow Hal’s Woodworking to gain many more customers. This would be possible due to the increased sales area. Being online would allow Hal to sell to people all over the world. Not only would he be able to sell in Sandusky, OH and surrounding areas, he could sell to someone in California or even Connecticut. Allowing him to not only gain loyal customers nearby, but loyal customers anywhere. The ease of transaction on an online site would also help Hal maintain these customers. I know personally that when I have to jump through multiple hoops or wait in line forever, just to check out, I just quit. This is especially true of brick and mortar stores. Shopping online is so much easier and is then transitioning more people to buying everything online. As long as the process is streamlined and simple, this would be a huge benefit. Lastly, having an online site would then create more visibility of his store and would in a way advertise for him. This also goes back to gaining more customers anywhere in the world.

Even though there are all of these strengths, there are also many weaknesses. Just the simple upfront cost of creating a site is astronomical. Once the site is created you also aren’t just finished. There is constant maintenance that is needed to update the site. As well as the need for a support team in order to assist customers if they have a problem with the site. So, with that comes the cost of additional employees in order to do this.

There are also many opportunities though. Having an online site could allow Hal to work with other companies, whether hardware or any other retailer, in order to gain more customers. Many companies have partnered with Amazon and this could be a great opportunity. Hal could also expand into other product categories. Whether that be other home improvement items, or even an online training video. This could not only attract customers, but encourage them to buy, and further more become loyal customers. All of these things would again create so much more visibility in the market for Hal, allowing him to gain more customers.