Question

INSTRUCTIONS: READ THE FOLLOWING SITUATION AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ARISING FOR THE CASE ANALYSIS.

“STONYFIELD FARM GOES TO THE BLOGS”

The Stonyfield Farm story is a kind of legend. In 1983, friends and social activists Gary Hirschberg and Samuel Kaymen started with a good yogurt recipe, seven cows, and a dream. They established an organic yogurt company in Wilton, New Hampshire, to take advantage of baby boomers' growing concerns about natural foods and health, and to revitalize the dairy industry in New England. Stonyfield Farms has grown to become the third largest organic company in the world, with annual sales of more than $ 50 million in 50 states. It produces more than 18 million glasses of yogurt each month.

Stonyfield Farrn's spectacular growth is attributable in part to its ability to offer a product to a special niche market - people who value healthy food and want to protect the environment. These values ​​have become part of the "personality" of the company. Stonyfleld promises to use only natural ingredients and milk that has not been produced with antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, or pesticides or toxic fertilizers. The company donates 10 percent of its profits each year to projects that help protect or restore the planet.

As the company expanded, management feared that it might lose touch with its loyal and committed customer base. Advertising based on traditional media was expensive and did not really help the company to "connect" with the kind of people it was trying to reach. This company prefers word-of-mouth techniques that deliver its message to customers in ways more compatible with its popular, organic, and activist-friendly image.

Stonyfield has multiple active email newsletters with more than 500,000 subscribers, and typically posts messages promoting causes that he supports on the tops of his yogurt glasses. Now she's turning to blogging to further personalize her customer relationships and reach even more people. Inspired by Howard Dean's presidential campaign and Dean's blogger tutorials, CEO Hirschberg became convinced that Stonyfield could use blogging to create a more personal relationship with consumers, different from the traditional sales relationship. "Blogs give us what we call a handshake with consumers" and "a little more access to us

Stonyfield now publishes two separate blogs on his website — Baby Babble and Bovine Bugle. At one time Stonyfield was running five blogs, but decided to withdraw three of them because they weren't attracting enough readers. Baby Babble provides a forum for Stonyfield employees and other parents of young children to meet and discuss child development and balance work with the family. Stonyfield created that blog because baby yogurts are one of its most popular product lines, and parenting blogs seem to appeal to a large number of readers. The Bovine Bugle provides reports about Jonathan's Organic Dairy Farm. Gates in Franklin, Vermont, a member of the organic cooperative that supplies milk for Stonyfield products.

This blog sparks a large number of nostalgic comments from readers who remember their childhood on a farm. As organic food grows in importance, these blogs help the company showcase the aspects that make it different from other brands and invite customers to help them in this endeavor. Stonyfield continually posts new content to each of the blogs. Readers can subscribe to any of them and automatically receive updates when available. And of course they can reply to these posts.

The benefits of blogging for Stonyfield have not yet been quantified so far, but management is confident there are real benefits. Blogs have created a positive response for the Stonyfield brand by providing readers with something that inspires them or sparks their interest -If blogs give new information to readers, inspire them to protect the environment or ask them for opinions, the administration believes that They will remember the brand when they are in front of the yogurt shelves in the supermarket or grocery store and that they will take a Stonyfleld product instead of a competitor when it is time to choose. Stonyfield has a fairly large website. Blogs offer a way to highlight some of the content on the Web that would otherwise be lost. This, too, helps drive some blog readers to buy Stonyfield products.

III. Is the strategy of using "blog" one that provides a competitive advantage to the company? Explain your answer. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs for a company like this?

Answer 1

Yes of course the blogging strategy provides a competitive advantage to the company, it is clear through the below paragraph.

This web log sparks several unhappy comments from readers WHO keep in mind their childhood on a farm. As organic food grows in importance, these blogs facilitate the corporate showcase the aspects that create it completely different from different brands and invite customers to assist them during this endeavor. Stonyfield regularly posts new content to every of the blogs. Readers will buy any of them and mechanically receive updates once on the market. And in fact, they will reply to those posts.
the advantages of blogging for Stonyfield haven't however been quantified thus far, however management is assured their area unit real advantages. Blogs have created a positive response for the Stonyfield complete by providing readers with one thing that conjures up them or sparks their interest -If blogs offer new data to readers, inspire them to guard the atmosphere or raise them for opinions, the administration believes that they're going to keep in mind the complete after they area unit before of the yoghourt shelves within the food market or food market which they're going to take a Stonyfleld product rather than a challenger once it's time to settle on. Stonyfield features a giant web site. Blogs provide the way to focus on several the content on the online that might preferably be lost. This, too, helps drive some web log readers to shop for Stonyfield merchandise.

Advantages
1-SEO – Having sensible content on-line may be a should so as to be found on-line. produce sensible quality content that individuals have an interest in sharing and Google is certain to note.
2-Increases new business – a continuing stream of visits to your web log also will increase the potential to draw in interest from prospects.
3-Great for feedback – It permits and encourages constant engagement with readers. whether or not they agree or disagree, you'll understand it forthwith by their comments.
4-Gain influence – If your material is nice, you'll attract repeat guests and can gain their trust and respect.
5-Learn a lot of concerning your followers - one in all the items businesses pay a great deal of cash on is in learning what their shoppers need from them or what they like/dislike concerning their merchandise. Blogging is a straightforward and effective thanks to acquire this info.
6-Establish yourself as associate degree professional in your field – This won’t happen nightlong however over time, as you post a lot of blogs and share your real data with the community, your readers can begin to envision you as associate degree professional.
7-Help others – an honest web log will educate, inspire and facilitate readers in ways in which the blogger might ne'er recognize.

Disadvantages

1-Poor content – Poorly written content will replicate badly on your whole. place some thought into what you web log concerning and guarantee your work has been altered and reviewed.
2-Inconsistent posts – If you opt to web log, confirm you are doing it systematically. Imagine however it might look to folks visiting your website and your web log is over a year recent. associate degree recent web log is worse than no blog!!
3-It takes time – affirmative, you would like to relinquish some thought and arrange out what you're reaching to web log concerning. the great news the' is that a lot of you are doing it, the better it'll become. begin writing!
4-Risk having nobody see your content – What? though sensible quality content is vital; you would like to drive traffic to your website thus folks recognize there's a web log to browse. If you’re active on social media you will share it there however once more, you’re restricted by what number followers you've got. Here’s some nice news! there's a brand-new conception in on-line selling that involves operating with different businesses in order that everybody leverages all their social media connections so as to succeed in a broader audience.

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