GASP raises BizHunter.com to the top of the food chain.

Situation

The business model for bizhunter.com was to provide an online exchange for the buying and selling of established businesses and commercial real estate, as well as funding resources for start-ups and franchises. In addition to these activities, the BizHunter.com site would provide buyers and sellers access to financing sources, equipment leasing providers, and business services.

Even with their fast-change tactics, a month before the launch the marketing theme line for BizHunter.com was picked up by a competitor. This increased the challenge for GASP, as the site had to be re-branded at the eleventh hour.

The competitive landscape had grown exponentially within two years. Our Adaptive Branding strategy had factored in the potential for an even more aggressive playing field, as business intelligence had indicated at least seven new players making ready to launch during the BizHunter.com beta period. The decision was made to restrict the promotional activities of the geographic launch territory to California so as to assure that the operational functionality of the site and the service organization were ready for prime time before rolling out nationally.

Objective

GASP recommended that the BizHunter team refocus all of their efforts to attracting buyers to the site to instead work exclusively with business brokers and seller agents for their listings. The decision was made to allow these agents and brokers to post their listings for free, so as to populate the site quickly. This tactic would allow BizHunter.com the opportunity to focus their efforts on building awareness for the site among the buyer segment that was in firm control of the deal flow on the competitive sites in the playing field.

Research indicated that the mindset of the typical business investor was highly aggressive and always in search of the next opportunity. To appeal to such an active target audience and to lock in an unforgettable image for the BizHunter.com brand, GASP recommended the symbol of a shark, the ultimate hunting machine. The content of the site was written in a dramatic manner that glorified the excitement of the hunt for great opportunities. Flash animation was used in the masthead and in banner ads throughout the site to dramatize the shark (a solo predator that seldom hunts in packs) and its relentless nature. In addition to the new aggressive imagery, GASP crafted the new theme line "Join the Hunt," to specifically appeal to BizHunter.com's targeted buyer audience.

Results

The BizHunter.com web site is now in Beta test. The response from the buyer and seller communities has been far in excess of what was initially projected.

BizHunter.com