Elance.com is a freelance website that allows customers to solicit work from a variety of outsourcing services, which include programmers, designers, office support, translators, marketers, researchers, and many other disciplines. In marketing, the marketing mix consists of product/services, placement, price, and promotions.

Elance.com allows a business to post a job opening and invites freelance workers who believe they have the requisite skills for the job to make a bid. The company charges a $10 fee to each business to post a job, and also takes a small portion of what gets paid to contractors. Below is an analysis of Elance.com’s marketing mix:

Service – Elance.com allows businesses to post a job opening to freelancers at potential savings.

Placement – All transactions occur on the website.

Price – The company charges a $10 fee to each business to post a job and also take a small portion of what gets paid to contractors. It is considered low-to-medium cost.

Promotions – Much of the effort appears to be publicity and ‘Word of Mouth’ promotions.

The following questions would be asked as a marketing professional (suggested answers are also provided) when analyzing Elance.com:

Elance.com aims at two clients, employer and freelancer.  Clearly, you must know your customers. Paul Peter and James Donnelly, authors of Marketing Management, argue that successful businesses understand customer needs.

With that said, potential employers see a website that attracts over 500,000 talented freelancers.  For the freelancer, there is an opportunity to bid on 48,000 jobs, worth $480K.  It is recommended that the website be more tailored for employers and freelancers, since they have different needs. This could be done with distinct website buttons.

For potential employers, Elance.com provides ratings and tested freelancers whose profiles and ratings can be evaluated.  For freelancers, it is real-time feedback.  When Elance.com gets repeat business or new business, this is also a good indication of superior services.

 

Through the rating process and feedback, Elance.com can obtain feedback.  Likewise, freelancers get paid and get feedback.  Michael Solomon, author of Consumer Behavior, suggests that consumer response is the ultimate test of whether a marketing strategy will succeed. Therefore, Elance.com is the top freelance website that has to support a variety of consumers.

Please discuss Elance’s marketing strategy from your own professional experience.

© 2013 by Daryl D. Green