Ebay Case Study

2. How ‘eBay’ has differentiated from its major competitors?

There is a need for companies to review and realign their marketing strategy. This is done on an ongoing basis to ensure they remain competitive in the market they compete in. According to Sterling (2003:27) product life cycles have reduced, technology undergoes major step changes and with rapid frequency, markets are subjected to swift sporadic change. Furthermore, Damanpour (2010:1007) extends Sterling’s view by adding that, deregulation and increased global competition provides an extra dimension to having a competitive advantage and the economic benefit derived from it.

Moreover, Sustainable Competitive Advantage (Grewal & Levy, 2016) as referred to in Question 1 provides the

that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet’ (Shakespeare & Durband, 1985) from Rome and Juliet Act ii Scene ii, famously penned by William Shakespear does on the contrary not ring true in the marketing sense. The differentiation that is Brand Equity is one of eBay’s most valuable differentiatiors. A brand such as eBay and their payment support function PayPal differitiate them self. This is achieved by the brand being identified by the sellers and the buyers as a dependable source of product, reduced risk and a symbol of quality (Singh, 2014:113). eBay has become a household name, to the extent that the trade mark has become sort of a generic name for online

Online presence involves more than just an engaging storefront or landing page. In Question 2, time was spend on unpacking the consumer decision process when shopping online, including aspects of the strong sense of community, trust and safety.

By the ongoing management of the safety and security concerns of the buyers and sellers, eBay has maintained the differentiator of a safer place to shop with anti-fraud programs, verified user practices. The strong sense of community is visible in the response and comment forms, where eBay community members share their shopping experiences.

Lastly for eBay to enhance their advantage they have over competitors, including Amazon, it is a prerequisite for eBay to continue, to strive for excellence in “service quality” (Ghobadian,et al., 1994). Superiority of service is considered an indispensable element of the long-term viability (Ghobadian, et al., 1994) of eBay’s differention from the