Are you a retailer with a presence on social-networking sites
Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube? If the answer is yes, you’re in
the minority according to a new report from ecommerce services
provider DotCommerce. It found that 58 percent of retailers don’t
have a social-media presence; of the 42 percent that do, only 10
percent use more than one social-media network.
“We were surprised by the low levels of social-media usage
amongst the retailers we assessed,” DotCommerce’s technical
director Simon Bird said in a statement. “Lucrative
opportunities to engage with target markets and drive business
through social media are being overlooked by these
retailers.” However, the retailers that Catalogue
e-business spoke to, even those without a presence on
social-networking sites, were already aware of the possibilities
of social media. Further, for the retailers who weren’t actively
using social-media sites, it was firmly on the agenda for
2010.
The to-do list
Pets at Home is among the retailers yet to have an official
presence on Facebook and Twitter. But according to director of
multichannel Matt Stead, the pet supplies retail chain isn’t
shunning social media intentionally. It had been holding off
launching a social-media strategy until its ecommerce platform,
installed late last year, was in place and working effectively.
“It’s not just the front end,” adds Stead,
“it’s making sure logistics, the call centre and the
delivery processes were working well with the new site to enhance
the customer experience.”
Now, he says, Pets at Home is ready to turn its attention to
social networking. Operating in its niche, it has the advantage
of knowing that its customers are passionate about pets. This
knowledge gives Pets at Home a foundation block to build on to
turn that passion into brand loyalty. According to Stead,
“there is a genuine appetite in the company for social
media to be used as brand builders,” as opposed to pure
sales drivers. He confirmed that Pets at Home will be active on
social-networking sites by September 2010.
Crafts and novelties merchant Baker Ross is another cataloguer
yet to experiment with social media, though “it is strongly
in our plans going forward,” says marketing director Nick
Begy. He adds that the main reason for not having a presence on
social-networking sites was the “prioritisation of
resource”. Not necessarily the initial financial outlay in
creating marketing campaigns, but rather keeping the
communications up to date, says Begy. “I firmly believe
these sites need to be kept relevant to increase interaction.
Otherwise you will soon lose any following and will find it
difficult to resurrect.”
Socially aware
Another criticism from the report was that many retailers that
were active on social-networking sites had failed to integrate
their social-media channels into their other marketing campaigns.
In short, their efforts lacked sophistication.
That’s not the case at Accessories Online, a website selling
designer jewellery and accessories. Social media became a vital
part of the business when the site relaunched in March last
year.
“Within a month of launch, we’d seen a dramatic increase in
Twitter followers and Facebook fans-our regular customers were
keen to have a way to connect with us on a more personal
level,” explains managing director Vicky Hesketh.
Communicating directly with customers makes them feel valued,
makes Accessories Online “a lot more approachable”
and increases conversions, says Hesketh. Currently she estimates
that Twitter contributes to approximately 20 percent of total
sales.
EthicalSuperstore.com, a marketer of ecofriendly goods, is yet
another that’s engaged with more than one social-media network;
it uses Twitter, Facebook, and has a page on photo-sharing site
Flickr. Again, these channels work together-EthicalSuperstore is
working on a photography project where it adds a new photo every
day. “This is then tweeted and uploaded onto Facebook.
We’re getting increasing numbers of hits on these photographs,
and the project is beginning to get quite a following,”
says marketing executive Joanna Glover. Although it doesn’t yet
measure whether clicks from social media convert to sales, it has
found that the sites are driving brand awareness, “and
brand awareness naturally drives sales,” Glover says.
The Dolls House Emporium uses more than one social network as
well. “Facebook has by far been a greater success for us in
terms of engaging with our customers than Twitter. Like the forum
hosted on our site, Facebook allows our fans to post images, ask
for advice and interact with each other,” explains Amy
Gutierrez, sales and marketing manager for the miniatures
cataloguer.
And whilst both channels are from time to time used to promote
special offers and new products, neither is operated with a
“buy, buy, buy mentality”. At present, says
Gutierrez, neither channel directly contributes to the bottom
line, but that’s not the point: “The direct sales from
these sites are negligible at best, however with the strategies
we’re currently working on they will [contribute] in the future.
It is treacherous to think that social media is just a fad, it is
extremely powerful-effectively word of mouth for the whole world
to see.” Gutierrez accepts that it would be na�ve to assume
that without a measurable return, the business could continue to
justify its social-media activities. “Up until now the
exercise has been to see if we have an audience there to engage
with, now we know where they are and have been able to build a
presence, we can develop that.”
Being visible on social-media sites has allowed Dolls House
Emporium, EthicalSuperstore, and Accessories Online to
proactively reach out to the public. Each has discovered where
and how customers and prospects like to interact with the
company.
If you still think that social media are not for you, consider
what better opportunity to get to know your customers by
monitoring their conversations with you and about you. Having
information like that at your fingertips before you embark on
your next marketing campaign is surely invaluable.
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