Yahoo

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Case Study |

Marketing 2920 |

Professor Lutz3/11/2011

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Katie Burke |

Louise MercerRachael RoarkBecca SteinbergIvory Zhang |

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I. Executive Summary

Background and Introduction

Why is it important to study Yahoo? Yahoo is a prime example of how in today’s world of rapidly evolving technology, a company must be looking ahead to the future for innovation opportunities; otherwise the company will be overtaken by competitors who capitalized on the opportunity to further explore the technology. As consumers, we reap the benefits of increases in technology, and those firms who pose increasing technological conveniences will be rewarded in terms of market share and customer loyalty. 

Yahoo is an online media provider whose goal is to be the most necessary Internet services provider for both businesses and consumers around the world.

Since 2008, Yahoo has begun to lose its relevance allowing itself to be pushed to the side by the market share leader--Google.

Success or Failure

If Yahoo continues on its current path it will fail. Its failure will be caused by a lack of clear focus. Consequently, the firm’s core competencies have gotten lost in the process. The Yahoo brand is no longer clearly positioned, yielding little differentiation of the firm’s offerings. Yahoo is currently in the fourth stage of decline, grasping for salvation. Yahoo will progress into the fifth and final stage, capitulation to death or irrelevance, if it does not develop a strategy and define its core competencies.

External Analysis

Yahoo’s primary revenue comes from advertisements featured on its web pages. Since these pages are free to access, Yahoo targets shoppers and its customers’ customers to increase the traffic on the website. Yahoo’s main competitor is Google, with indirect competitors including Facebook, AOL, and YouTube. There are three main segments for its services: advertising, business services, and personal services. Yahoo is a reactor, trying to...