INTRODUCTION

In the emerging global economy, e-commerce and e-business have

increasingly become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong

catalyst for economic development. The integration of these electronic-based

businesses has revolutionized relationships within their clients and their

consumers. With the wider scope of web based emergence, it has encouraged

greater customer participation and enabled mass customization. With

development in the internet, distinctions between traditional markets and the

global electronic market place - such as business capital size among others are

gradually narrowed down. The name of the game is strategic positioning, the

ability of a company to determine emerging opportunities and utilize the

necessary human capital skills to make the most of these opportunities

through an e-business strategy that is simple, workable, and practicable

within the context of global milieu and new economic environment.

With the implications of electronic commerce, social media has become

one of its venturing channels for success. As such, it has been a medium in

promoting and advertising products and services. And that is how

HomeRun.com takes their opportunities.

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 Founded by Jared Kopf and Matt Humprey on 2009, HomeRun, is an

internet business that had opened its merchant customers in fall 2009. It was

founded as group buying business which offers products and services at

significantly induced prices on the condition that a minimum number of

buyers would make the purchase. HomeRun emails its customers with daily

coupons that they can use to purchase popular goods and services from local

merchants and businesses. Founded in San Francisco and expanding to serve

more than 30 U.S. cities include Portland, New York, Detroit, Washington D.C.,

Baltimore, Phoenix and Chicago. HomeRun is designed around an innovative

social media concept that encourages users to share their deals with others

and gather more subscribers for HomeRun.com.

HomeRun offers substantial and sizable discounts equaling more than

half of the product or services original price. To avail the offer on a discounted

price, the users must avail of the product or service through HomeRun. The

company also operates with featured opportunities for subscribers and users of

the website to find more ways to save money while enjoying their pre-recession

lifestyle.

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

How can Homerun management keep pace in the continuous changing

needs of their merchants and consumers?

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROBLEM

To aid Homerun in breaking into a saturated market - through

enhancement of its marketing strategy, customer retention and operations

management to increase its sales volume and promote new products of

merchants.

ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION

1. Enhancing Marketing Strategy through:

a. Socialization. Homerun's strategy should effect typically on group buying;

as people rely more on the goods and services recommended by their

friends and family.

b. Technology. There should be a proprietary technology differing from the

daily email standard to stand out from its competitors in the highly

saturated market. Homerun should also consider expanding its

merchant pages — allowing merchants to run their own deals and

thereby creating a more ideal market for consumers. This could be

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 achieved by encouraging more and more merchants to exhibit their

product offers through membership awards. Unless merchants feel the

need to settle and do business on one site, they will continually

introduce their products in different sites. Homerun should expand its

merchant pages that will necessitate settlement of merchants. This

should allow merchants to make their own deals as if Homerun is the

online home of their business.

c. Global Market Diversification. Stability of their market in the national

must be obtained first before proceeding to the next level. Though, the

settling to national engagement does not mean closing the opportunities

globally. Global expansion is a great endeavor which requires optimum

combination of the organization’s resources such as capital, human

labor, skills, time, effort and even sacrifices.

2. Enhancing Customer Retention through:

a. Service. Coupon and gift card distribution should be convenient and

reliable for consumers. Homerun should address the primary needs of its

consumers, catering and providing convenience to satisfy their demand.

b. Inventory and Pricing. The pricing of the company's inventory is a key

differentiator. This could aid the company in retaining its customers. It is

primarily best to establish a market that caters the need of every

consumer and even a market that provides personalized offers —

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 meaning a market which adjusts to the customer’s need, preference and

customer’s counter offer as to the price.

3. Enhancing Operations Management through:

a. Proper decentralized communication with their employees from top to

lower management. Communication is the key factor in the success of

the businesses as well as a factors or elements towards innovation and

quality. Decentralization means distribution or delegation of power and

information from the central authority to the employees.

b. Proper cooperation and adaptation must be done in the company.

ANALYSIS

1. Marketing Strategy

a. Socialization
 Advantage: Social interaction on multiple platforms such as Facebook,

twitter and other social media sites, the company has become more

popular. Also, other people tend to trust those products recommended by

friends, relatives and family or highly rated by other consumers.

 Disadvantage: It isn't enough to capture the market at this level of

market saturation because consumers are intelligent enough to know if

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 reviews and recommendations are true or not especially in social

networking sites.

b. Technology
 Advantage: developing and employing technologies enable the company

to personalize their products, to cope up with the changing world, and to

facilitate globalization.
 Disadvantage: technologies are costly or expensive to the part of the

company. The company is required to employ experts to operate and

maintain the acquired equipment (technology-based).

c. Global Market Diversification

 Advantage: Global diversification creates a wider market for Homerun

and barrier to entry is minimal. This creates more opportunities for

Homerun in terms of higher productivity and greater range of network.

Diversification will pave the way for job security and economic growth.
 Disadvantage: Global diversification requires large amount of capital,

time, effort and entrepreneurial skills.

2. Customer Retention

a. Service
 Advantage: Running a business with a good service (customer) helps the

company build customer loyalty. Customers also are frequent patrons to

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 businesses that place a high value on training their staffs to emphasize

customer service.
 Disadvantage: A Customer-focused business operate solely on customers’

needs and wants which affects the creativity of the company and they

may resist coming up with ideas to improve products or create new

products, so they begin to lack innovation. In addition, customers' needs

are ever-changing, which means the company needs to have the

resources, such as financing, staffing and time, to constantly keep up

with customer demands.

b. Inventory and Pricing

Advantage: Agreements to merchants in terms of product display to deal

sites and a good pricing strategy differentiates the company to other

competitors that allows them to attract more customers.

Disadvantage: Not all merchants acquiesce to single dependent deal site

viewing the circumstance that reliance to more group buying site will

help them uplift their offers and achieve greater sales. Also, pricing

strategy that trimmed the price at very low level might cause deal sites

like HomeRun operate at lower commission or even at breakeven.

3. Operations Management

a. Decentralized Communication.
 Advantage: By implementing decentralize communication inside the

HomeRun, skilled employees can share their thoughts and ideas. Giving

them opportunities for those who have skills and experience. It may

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

 broaden the new idea, way of thinking and imaginary ability of the

company.
 Disadvantage: If this happens, ideas overload is the result. Lack of focus

to the idea that might help the company in achieving their goals and

objectives.

b. Coordination and Adaptation

 Advantage: With this, Homerun.com employees can work and innovate

quickly enough for them to have a progress and have a competitive

advantage.
 Disadvantage: due to change of plans, adaptation may take time and the

possibility of affecting the operations may be high in effect to the

adjustments implemented.

FINDINGS

The purpose of the analysis is to assess the operations management,

marketing strategy and customer retention of HomeRun. In accomplishing that

goal, it is necessary to reach some prerequisites and to understand the factors

that affect the management of the entity as whole and the plans and actions

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

that should be taken. In analyzing the possible courses of action available, the

group findings are as follows:

 Enhancing Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy of HomeRun will be enhanced through

socialization, technological advancement and global market

diversification.

 Enhancing Customer Retention

The process of retaining customer trust will be improved through

good customer service and a well-priced offer. HomeRun must attain

customer satisfaction by satisfying the primary needs and demands of its

consumers. A product or service with a high quality at an affordable

price.

 Enhancing Operation Management

Decentralized communication to employees will enhance the

operation of Homerun. It will enable the staffs from lower to top

management to share their thoughts and ideas regarding the most

effective and efficient ways of achieving their objectives.

In conclusion, Kopf and Humprey, HomeRun business partner, must

consider the 3 factors that may affect its business operation in order for them

to point out the possible future effects of their decisions. These factors will help

them properly know what will be the strengths and weaknesses of their

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET

venture. Also, an intelligent and proper way of application of these factors will

help them position and maintain their business not only in the short run but

even in the long run.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Among the possible courses of actions available which were being formulated

by the group, Homerun, as a group buying business must consider the third

factor which is enhancing operation management. Enhancing operation

management focuses on the internal factors that affect the company’s business

operation. For example, decentralization in terms of communication and

proper management of their labor force will address the problems arising from

miscommunication and wok inefficiency. Furthermore, cooperation and

adaption made by the top management will help them effective in achieving

their short term objectives as well as their long their goals. Also, the issues that

affect marketing strategies and customer retention will rely on the internal

factors especially in the formulation process of the business.

HOMERUN.COM:
HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET
 BREAKING INTO A
SATURATED MARKET
( A CASE ANALYSIS)

Jagg A. Dela Cruz

Mira Carmela Fadullon
Clyde M. Cabotaje
Jemelle T. Cariaga
Junjie B. Palma

Prof. Dante Narciso

(Instructor)

HOMERUN.COM: BREAKING INTO A SATURATED MARKET