Blue Nile Inc company overview and operations

Blue Nile Inc.

Strength of Competitive Forces

The technological advancements of the past years have paved the road to success for retailers who wish to operate with reduced costs and address global audiences. This means then that the number of online retailers has significantly increased, generating as such fierce competition and the need to diversify the product offering based on multiple criteria, including product quality, price or complementary services. The price issue is extremely complex mostly since the jewelers buy their diamonds and precious metals from similar sources, meaning as such that they incur similar costs - it is as such difficult to differentiate based on prices, but it must be achieved as, alongside with product quality, price is the strongest generator of competition. The quality of the product is generally assessed at high levels by the customers and by quality control tertiary parties, which issue certification reports. A third extremely strong competitive force revolves around retention of customers. In order to ensure long-term sustainable revenues, jewelers have to increase the levels of customer satisfaction, but also to expand their audience and approach potential clients from global markets. Competition is also fierce in hiring and retaining the most qualified staff members.

2. Key Factors for Success

The key factors for success in online retail of jewelry products are given by the forces which generate intense competition. In this order of ideas, Blue Nile Inc. And the other retailers must ensure that their marketing campaigns and product offerings are available to a wide potential market. In addition, they must be able to serve this global market in an efficient manner in terms of rapid delivery or product warranty. Focus must also be placed on hiring and retaining the most qualified organizational staff members, who are committed to increasing their performances and supporting the organization reach its overall goals. These employees are able to develop user-friendly websites, offer specialized assistance to shoppers and interact in a manner that increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. The previously discussed forces belong more to the internal environment of each online jeweler, but the forces which are directly perceived by the customer must also be addressed. They refer primarily to high levels of product quality and competitive retail prices.

3. Blue Nile's Strategy