You may have heard the news about Best Buy.
Going forward and as a key part of its turnaround strategy, Best Buy will continue to growth its e-commerce base, focus on a smaller-store format such as Best Buy Mobile that sells cell phones and close more big-box stores. “We will right size the company to better meet customers wherever they want, whenever they want, in the neighborhood store or online with a strengthened e-commerce capability that opens markets at home and abroad,” Best Buy’s interim CEO Mike Mikan told analysts.
It’s a critical moment for one of the most successful and recognizable brands of the last twenty years. The company is a major brand in many cities and towns all over the US. For those stores to close will be a big deal. It’s a change that was inevitable and the company is taking the necessary steps to change with the demands of consumers.
Best Buy is still one of the biggest e-commerce companies around. They will still be a force in the retail world even as they close stores.
What I’m interested most in is how they will handle the e-commerce side of things in the future.
My question is – Will content be a new focus for Best Buy?
The Best Buy Content Strategy
Right now Best Buy has an interesting method for tackling content. The Best Buy Community has been around for some time. The company also has various company blogs:
From my perspective it seems like Best Buy has been in the position of most businesses – big and small – for the last few years. They are taking it slow with content like blogging and forums and community to see if something sticks. Best Buy has also focused on their social channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), but I applaud their efforts at community building. I’m a big believer in focusing on one’s own community first instead of promoting another channel or website property.
I’m not sure how Best Buy started, but their name seems to lend to the fact that they planned on being everything for everyone. As you probably realize, Best Buy became experts in the electronics world. They were (and still are in many respects) the entertainment source for many people. The audience and community formed around this niche and Best Buy honed its strategy to give these people what they demanded.
I think that is the future for Best Buy. They are pivoting (a popular buzzword in the entrepreneur world these days) and focusing on something different. They still have their existing audience, but the focus may be changing to a new audience of people that spend more time in the online world.
Today, people are consuming a variety of content online. Desktop access is still the most common way, but more people are using smartphones and tablets to access content. Articles, interviews, and video are all becoming popular forms of discovery and research and referral.
The companies that focus on content in the future will find themselves with a growing audience and community. This is where the money will be made.
Side note: Best Buy does appear to be focusing on video content. They have some great videos on their site including on their homepage.
What do you think the future will hold for Best Buy?
I’m excited to see how their pivot to the online world will play out.