Company Profile

Chilly’s bottles are a company that specialise in reusing everyday items into the form of water bottles, coffee cups and food pots that keeps the content hot or cold for 12-24 hours. Founded in 2010, the primary aim apart from keeping content hot/cold is to eliminate the need to use plastic water bottles. It also focuses on reducing the environmental impact of plastic containers which is an increasing problem in society (Gregory- Kumar, 2018).

Competitors

The closest competitor to Chilly’s is ‘S’well’ offering an almost identical product, with the aim to ‘rid the world of plastic water bottles’ (Kauss, 2018). Both companies have identified the need to incorporate ‘fashion’ into the design of the product to attract a larger consumer base as many companies recognise that attractive packaging equals increased sales (Dallin, 2018). Another competitor of Chilly’s is ‘ion8’ which is made from a durable reusable plastic and is more affordable than Chilly’s and S’well.

Website Comparison

Following the AIPD model, Chilly’s website is the more aesthetically pleasing of the three, deploying atmospherics that give consumers a take away impression attracting them to the website to make a purchase (Dailey, 2004). Chilly’s do this by using bold colours, large images and an alternative modern layout with traditional titles along the top and images displayed in consecutive lines. Chilly’s and S’well websites are more informative and provide consumers with information on the product leaving a positive impact (Simeon, 1999). However, in order to differentiate themselves from similar online companies such as S’well, Chilly’s could offer a pop-up advertisement offering 10% off the first order, or 10% off when signing up to the newsletter, creating a positive cognitive experience to gain repeat sales (Roque, 2017).

Customer Experience

An important theory of experience measurement is Customer Experience which is a contributor of customer value and the company itself (Gentile et al 2007). Chilly’s are able to capture dimensions such as emotional, cognitive, pragmatic and lifestyle through their website as they are engaging customers into the benefits of their product. Customers can understand, act and relate to the reasonings behind why Chilly’s or S’well do not use plastic. All three websites include customer reviews onsite as well as reviews offsite, with companies being compared against one another, ‘Best water Bottle 2018’ (Dewberry, 2018). Chilly’s positioning against ion8 and S’well is that it is not as widely known, therefore it is important that Chilly’s create a positive brand image. As Chilly’s is relatively small, customers can rely on feedback from reviews on the website to generate trust in the company. Another way Chilly’s could generate further trust is by an email confirming the order and the process of distributing the package, creating customer satisfaction and loyalty (Molinillo, et al 2017).

Target Markets

Chilly’s and S’well both offer a fashionable stance on the water bottle, and their advertisements and website reflect this with colourful and desirable images. Both companies tend to target female consumers who are segmented into 15-40 age group , active and have some interest in helping the environment. Whereas, ion8 has a simpler website, targeting a larger market of both genders, perhaps aged 25+ who partake in active sports on a lower budget. Examples of two personas have been listed below.

Customer Journey and Personas

The customer journey was created from the personas, as they are aged 21 and 36 the importance of social media advertising is the largest touch point to this age group and therefore it is important for Chilly’s to deliver their message across various channels to build relationships and trust (Baer, 2018). Web forums appeared important when comparing against competitors as reviews on products is a large determinant on consumer purchases (Lindmark, 2015). Therefore, if Chilly’s can deliver their product to ‘influencers’ that can blog about the purchase Chilly’s could benefit from unpaid form of communication by word of mouth and increased product awareness to increase sales.

References

Baer, J. (2018). Social Circles- Use Social Media to Build a Touchpoint Corral. Online: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/social-circles-use-social-media-to-build-a-touchpoint-corral/(Accessed 6^thDecember 2018).

Bortnick, A. (2018). The Many Wonders of Water: The Reasons to Drink Up. Online: https://www.active.com/health/articles/the-many-wonders-of-water-6-reasons-to-drink-up(Accessed 4th December 2018).

Dailey, L. (2004) Navigational Web Atmospherics, Explaining the Influence of Restrictive Navigation Cues. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 57, P795-803.

Dallin, A. (2018). The Importance of Packaging Design. Online:https://blog.redrocketcreative.com/importance-of-packaging-design(Accessed 4th December 2018).

Dewburry, J. Best Water Bottle 2018: S’Well Water Bottles Savings Currently on Offer. Online: https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/health-and-grooming/1405914/best-water-bottle-reusable-sport(Accessed 4th December 2018).

Gregory- Kumar, D. (2018). Cutting Plastic Pollution from Bottle to Bin and Beyond. Online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-43198434(Accessed 29th November 2018).

Lindmark, E. (2015). The Influence of Online Consumer Reviews on Consumer Buying Behaviour in the Buying Process: With a Focus on High and Low Involvement Products.Online: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1017815/FULLTEXT02(Accessed 6th December 2018).

Kauss, S. (2018). A Message from Sarah. Online: https://www.swellbottle.com/about-us/(Accessed 1^stDecember 2018).

Molinillo, S. Gomez-Ortiz, B. Perez- Aranda, J. Navarro-Garcia, A. (2017). Building Customer Loyalty: The Effect of Experiential State, the Value of Shopping and Trust and Perceived Value of Service on Online Clothes Shopping. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. Vol: 35 (3) P156-171.

Roque, C. (2017). How to Use Discount Pricing Strategies to Make More Sales. Online: https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-use-discount-pricing-strategies–cms-28611(Accessed 5th December 2018).