subject: Squeezing The Gold From Social Interaction On Your Ecommerce Website [print this page] Most online entrepreneurs and industry analysts are still trying to figure out the social marketing phenomenon. It is hard to know how much emphasis to put on it and how useful it will be in selling products.
One thing we know for sure is that social marketing has made big strides forward in solving the content problems many websites have struggled to achieve. The back and forth conversations in social sites are often substituting for content, as are the blog posts and customer ratings on ecommerce sites.
We also can see that we are getting to know our customers better, because we are interacting with them outside of the constraints of a transactional situation.
It is possible to know that the customer who generated order number 3427651, an order for a set of luggage is not a traveler; the luggage was a gift to her brother who just got a job as a salesperson. She is, however, a fitness buff and might be interested in your gym bags.
This ability to know customers better is one of the greatest gifts of social marketing. The other great gift is the opportunity to listen to what customers are saying. Here are some ways to listen to your customers better.
Inform offline advertising
If your business lends itself to offline advertising to support your online presence (typically a company that has regional markets), select your highest rated online products to run in your newspaper or radio ads.
Profiling
Conduct an analysis of your customers and identify any subsets that are especially influential. You may find, for example, that 70% of your products are purchased by 30% of your customer base. It is a lot easier to get to know thirty percent of the people, so use that knowledge to focus your market research efforts.
Spend the time to profile your most valuable customer set. Extend special invitations to your social marketing venues. Offer special advantages in return for their willingness to fill out marketing surveys. Be sure that interaction with these customers is a priority for your business.
The New Hub
Recognize that many industry analysts are suggesting that social sites are going to replace search engines as the place where people start their Internet journeys. People are searching not for the product itself but for what people have to say about the product.
So, by the time a customer gets to your site, they have already done a lot of research about the product they want to buy. One industry watcher, speaking at the London Ecommerce Expo, noted that fifty one percent of shoppers have researched a product before they get to the retail site to purchase. That means that your presence in these arenas is crucial.
Language Fine Tuning
As you listen to your customers, watch for the language they use to describe your products. Do they say cell phone or mobile phone? Blouses or tops? These are your keys for word search possibilities.
Learning to use social marketing to its fullest potential is still a journey; be sure to pick up the useful crumbs along the way.
by: Jane Dawson
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