Buzz Killer Espresso Web Analysis

1. What is the value proposition of the site? What type of e-commerce site (e.g. B2B, B2C, etc. )

BuzzKillerEspresso.com is a B2C e-commerce site that provides information to customers of about high end coffee products and their custom roasts. The value proposition of the site clearly stated on the home page that is displayed when you first access the site that Buzz is “Life Support for Coffee Geeks”. The site is definitely meant to provide information regarding the coffee industry, including entrepreneurial advice, but also provides products to purchase (Act). The site conveys a sense of community by putting focus on blogs, habits of success, and events.

2. Who are their primary competitors? What is their revenue model?

Buzz’s primary competitors would be other artisanal roasting companies in Chicago such as Gaslight Coffee Roasters, Bow Truss Coffee Roasters, and Halfwit Coffee Roasters. All the competitors have store locations except Halfwit which is featured at The Worm Hole coffee shop and does not have its’ own location. Also, Bow Truss and Halfwit share space at The Worm Hole. All of the competitors provide online shopping as well as in-store purchasing.
The Buzz uses a commerce and retail revenue model focusing on selling physical goods. They do not provide any services geared towards repairing coffee equipment and do not utilize advertising banners on their site.

3. How does the website integrate with other channels?

The Buzz website utilizes other channels to communicate with their customers such as available product email notifications, Twitter, email Feeds from FeedBurner, Facebook, and a physical brick and mortar store and coffee shop that compliments their online coffee shopping experience.

4. Who are the intended customers for the website?

Buzz is dedicated to providing exotic beans, the latest coffee gear, and advice for the “coffee geek” community consumers and business entrepreneurs. This site is geared towards extreme coffee connoisseurs and entrepreneurs of all levels from those just starting out to the experienced.

5. How does the site market and advertise in order to attract consumer interest? (Attract)

Buzz attended the recent Chicago Roaster Jam in April this year, they blog once every 5 months or so, but there blogs can easily be connected with Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, Email, LinkedIn, Delicious, Reddit, and StumbleUpon with a click of an icon directly from the article.

6. How does the site attract different types of customers such as impulsive, patient and analytical buyers? (Attract)

Impulsive buyers are lured in with the featured products on the home page that display a brief blurb about the product with a learn more and buy now link. The customer doesn’t have to wade through the product categories to find the newest, hottest market items.

Patient Buyers would be attracted to the site because once a Product Category is clicked, they are taken to a page that displays all of the products for that category, short descriptions, and buy now options. They do not have to click individually into each item page to see prices and can easily compare items on one screen.

Analytical Buyers would be attracted to this site because there is lots of content and blogs written about the products that are being sold on the site. They can do some reading about the products and then purchase the same products on the Buzz website.

7. What types of tools and features does the site provide to enhance customer experience? Consider how the site applies web 2.0 tools and personalization. (Interact)

The Buzz site is utilizing PHP, Zen Cart, and Apache as a web server. There is not a mobile specific web site which causes a rough mobile experience especially when loading the content heavy pages on a phone device. Although, Zen Cart provides a consistent shopping checkout experience that users are familiar with.

8. How does the site process order placement and payment? (Act)

When ordering items on Buzz, you select Store from the global navigation header and you are taken to the products home page. Once you land on this page, the global navigation header is no longer available and you cannot get back to the other items on the site without using the back button. There are product categories to select from the left navigation pane as well as featured products directly on the home page to choose from. Once a featured product or product category is chosen, items are displayed with an item description, quantity box, and Add to Cart button. If there are multiple items on the page (as there are when selecting product categories), there is one Add to Cart button to add all selected items to the cart at once. Once you have added items to your cart, you are directed to the cart page where you can update your item quantities, continue shopping or choose to checkout. Once you have items in your cart, Shopping Cart and Checkout buttons are added to the top navigation bar.

Once Checkout is selected, returning customers can login, you can continue as a guest, or create an account by entering your billing information all from the same page. Completing the rest of the checkout process walks you through a familiar checkout wizard that first has you supply/review Billing Information, Shipping Information, Payment, Order Review, and then submission and completion. Payment allows the entry of credit card information and coupons for redemption.

9. How does the site handle delivery, shipping and returns? (Act)

When choosing Shipping options, you can choose to pick up in the store (which is free) or choose from available shipping methods. There is a Flat Rate option which is presented as the “Best Way” to ship and is the cheapest. There is another section that provides shipping from UPS from Ground to Next Day Air.

10. How does the site maintain customer service and support? (React)

There is a Shipping & Returns navigation item in the left pane when you are in the store. It provides information about order processing (which occurs within two business days from order placement), shipping methods, and the return policy.

Buzz has a product guarantee and will replace or provide a store credit at their discretion for all non-electrical items. Electrical items have manufacturer’s warrantees and Buzz will also repair or replace the item at their discretion.

All returns are subject to a 20% restocking fee, must be returned within 30 days and some items such as books, videos, and electrical items cannot be returned. If there is a discrepancy in the quantity received, it must be reported within 7 business days of receiving the order. A Return Merchandize Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained to return merchandise, but the website does not say how to go about getting and RMA for your order.

11. How useful is the site’s special interface feature and arrangement of content?

The sites arrangement of content and features appears clean and useful when first entering the site with a consistent global navigation bar along the top of the site and very clear navigation labels. The site gets confusing after leaving the initial home page. If the store is clicked on, the top navigation is gone and the interface changes, you cannot return to home, blogs, or other items that were available when initially entering the site. If you click on other content besides the store, the user experience is consistent. In addition to the global navigation there is context related navigation in the left pane of the site. Additionally, the original home page that is displayed cannot be returned to after initial launch and the store actually has a separate URL than the rest of the site which causes navigational issues.

12. Describe how the site provides a utilitarian and hedonic shopping experience.

The product categories provided on the left navigation pane provide a utilitarian shopping experience. The categories are very straight forward, you are taken to pages with many items, short summaries, and can easily add many items to your cart from the category page.

The site provides a hedonic shopping experience that is featured towards emotional buying for entertainment through the presentation of their featured products. They are prominently displayed in the center pane of the store home page. The titles can be clicked on and a large blurb is provided discussing the product. These product pages also provide suggested items that the user can peruse.

13. What are some possible improvements or enhancements you would recommend in order to improve customer loyalty?

Customer loyalty could be improved with a frequent buyers program where special coupons, sales, and events are emailed to members first before the general public. This would encourage repeat customers to continue to purchase from Buzz. It would also encourage purchases of product if coffees and products could be rated on the site so that new or existing customers could read experiences from those who had previously purchased the products.

 

References

Bow Truss Coffee Roasters - Chicago Coffee Roasting. Bowtruss, 2012. Web. 23 September 2013. <http://www.buzzcoffeeroaster.com/>.

Clayton, Liz. “Chicago Fires Up 3 New Boutique Coffee Roasters.” Serious Eats - Drinks. Serious Eats, 9 January 2013. Web. 23 September 2013. <http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/01/new-coffee-roasters-chicago-halfwit-gaslight-bow-truss.html>.

Gaslight Coffee Roasters. Shopify, 2013. Web. 23 September 2013. <http://gaslightcoffeeroasters.com/>.

The Wormhole Coffee. The Wormhole Coffee, 2013. Web. 23 September 2013. <http://www.thewormhole.us/>.