eCommerce #8: the scary power of activists, and managing consumer complaints #2 – 10 tactics
Following on from the 6 strategies this is what we have learnt, tactically, about the current online & social media environment. When responding to a complaint: Respond immediately, all hours. This is of paramount importance and a drag on resources. It is one of the only outward indications of our concern; conversely not responding can be [...]
eCommerce #7: the scary power of activists, and 6 strategies for managing consumer complaints
Companies either fear or embrace online consumer power. Knowing what to do creates confidence. Crowd behaviour is rapidly changing as people discover this power: online blackmail and extortion is down – we were involved in a wave of that; trolling/bullying is up; individual consumer complaints are increasing; community activism is evolving (look out for that!); [...]
eCommerce #6: The Scary Power of Activists, and the Law
Consumers are learning fast, that for the first time in history they hold an awesome amount of power. It’s a reversal. Traditionally powerful organisations that are used to manipulating the public (parliaments, news organisations, retail companies, advertising agencies) and others that rely on a certain aloofness (government bureaucracies, universities) are still waking up to this [...]
eCommerce #5: How activists can manipulate social media; and why companies are scared
Ever thought of using social media to right a wrong? Ever watched someone championing a cause that went viral? Ever wanted to create chaos in social media to ‘get even’? It happens all the time. One of the reasons companies are scared of the internet is fear of crowd behaviour and the loss of control. [...]
eCommerce #4: Losing sleep over customer reviews? 7/10 say it matters.
How much attention should we pay to review sites? And how much should we encourage customers to review us on our own sites – a teeth-grinding-anxiety-causing exercise for many retailers? The below research gives us an indication (275 car buyers surveyed; we haven’t seen the methodology) for the car industry, and probably translates into other [...]
eCommerce #3: 9 Tips on Managing Negative Customer Reviews
We are entering an era when people are gaining courage/enthusiasm to post customer reviews – mostly negative – on public sites or forums. It’s causing massive anxiety within companies. Turning this negative into a positive is hard. In the below insightful WSJ article, up to “24% of small and midsize businesses in the U.S. currently [...]
eCommerce #2: Fragile Relationships – Three Myths about What Customers Want
It is true that social media gives the customer an unparalleled opportunity to interact with a company; a genuine one-to-one relationship. But that’s entirely different to the next thought – that our customers want to interact, all the time. As social media monitoring gains strength, we are learning more about social media marketing and social media strategy. Below is an excellent [...]
eCommerce #1: A prediction – Online sales climb, but reaching saturation. Really?
Below, eMarketer predicts that sales per user will continue to climb in North America, but the rate of growth will slow – and soon!! Now that is unexpected! We would have expectedthe opposite, that as social media monitoring gains strength, companies will gain confidence with social media marketing and social media strategy, and be better able to help customers choose. For [...]
Aust Ecommerce Market 4th Largest – retailers have to adjust
According to top US social media marketing company(emarketer.com) we rank 4th largest ecommerce market in the Asia/Pacific. See the bar-chart below for details. It explains why companies like Harvey Norman are having to move fast to keep pace with Australian’s buying habits, and employ clever social media strategy to ensure their online retailing is world class. Ecommerce [...]
Strategy: 6 Ways to Manage Online Complaints
When we develop a social media strategy clients often ask us about this: how to manage the negatives; how to minimise the risks. A client request has stimulated this blog. Well the fact is people complain; and with social media, now more than before. It used to be that the most aggressive complainants would threaten to [...]
