Please provide your answers to following four possible first interview questions:
- Why do you think sites like Amazon have been so successful with consumers?
- We’re planning on developing a powerful omni-channel capability that would allow consumers to combine online and in-store shopping and purchasing, including same-day pickups at our stores. What do you think are the key success factors for this effort? What are some of the challenges?
- How can we best use social networks and mobile platforms to drive sales?
- Our focus is on luxury products that are differentiated from other mass market retailers, online and offline. How should this influence our m-commerce efforts?
Hint: how to prepare for this interview?
Do background research on the firm and the industry in which it operates. How does it compare to competitors?
Re-read Chapter 9 the opening case on Blue Nile, as well as Sections 9.1 and 9.3 (with a particular focus on the sections that cover omni-channel retail).
Also review Section 9.2 so that you can demonstrate some basic knowledge of strategic and financial analysis. It would also be worthwhile to closely review the E-commerce in Action case on Amazon, as understanding Amazon and the impact it has is imperative for anyone working in online retail.
Finally, re-read the Insight On case in Chapter 6 on marketing to the luxury audience (“Are the Very Rich Different from You and Me?”) to understand the success factors, and challenges, of online marketing to an affluent audience. Do back-ground research on the luxury goods marketplace, and marketing to the affluent.
In “Files”, you can find cases of “Blue Nile” and “Are the Very Rich Different from You and Me?”
