One area where retailers fail constantly with social media: Answering inquiries about when out-of-stock products will be available again, or even if they are coming back. Also, when products will go on sale. Last holiday I monitored the social accounts of most of the 10 largest retailers, and almost every one had the same answer to questions about OOS products: “Sorry, we don’t know. Keep checking back.” Yet the research we did at MyAlerts with the e-Tailing Group found that 96 percent of shoppers encountering OOS immediately went to a competitor’s site or searched for the product elsewhere.

One retailer that is doing social correctly is Cost Plus World Market. They embed Facebook comments on their products right on the individual product pages. When a shopper asks a question via social about when an item will go on sale or come back in stock, customer care answers by pointing out the form on the page for signing up for alerts, and promises the shoppers they will be the first to know when the data is available.

“If our customers are having a conversation about us we want to be part of it,” said a CPG executive. Being part of it means understanding what is being said and contributing to the discussion. Fewer than 10 percent of comments are typically at the two ends of the sentiment curve — either strongly supporting or “speaking out” against the brand. Managing brand equity means actively amplifying and rewarding brand advocates while neutralizing the negatives, and exploiting (to use a direct term) everything in between. All three areas of brand need are resource-intensive where ROI is often more suitably framed as ROO (return on objectives). Sentiment analysis, knowledge gaps and trends can inform brand management plans. But like my friend said of his sailboat, “It’s a hole in the water where I throw money!” The savvy marketer is cautious of the social media tail wagging the brand identity dog, recognizing that a loyal or prospective customer base may give two hoots about, or even be unaware of, social media commentary. The core point must be… Read more »

The social media learning curve has been steep because retail management is out of touch with the technology. Management reaches for data when little is available. Management expects social media to sell, rather than to engage. For all of these reasons, management underfunds social media. Consumers, particularly Millennials, view social media as a primary means of communication. They expect quick responses that solve issues. Retail and brand management need to embrace the chaos of social media and go with its flow, rather than trying to control its direction.

Much of the focus on retailers’ social media tactics has been revolving around the areas of commerce and customer service. Retailers are trying to figure out how best to use social media as a sales channel while also working to leverage it as a customer service channel where a more fluid, transparent conversation can be fostered. While these areas are worthy of consideration and analysis, there is still a big strategic tentpole in social media planning to not lose sight of – branding. One of the biggest benefits of social media is users telling their stories. Retail marketers can benefit by amplifying and nurturing the content generated by social media users. This may seem too soft for tracking quick win metrics and results. But the brand benefits by sharing and showcasing the content generated in the social sphere. I hope to see more retailers showcasing social content across their marketing channels.

Blame it on the management. The whole issue is easy — the typical late start in the social game cost the core retailers as new players got into the market and started with social as their core marketing toolset.

It took some larger retailers too long to learn that just marketing and data are not the same as true social.

Large shops are also still learning and also trying to re-tune their images in the social space — and that does not mean just getting a Facebook site and doing more on Twitter. Social is a strategic tool and Voice measurement tools in social are critical.

As usual, it took too long for retailers to get the management focused on the power of a select technology — thus the catch up game is ongoing.

No need to over analyze here

TRedd

Social media is something our store has been doing strongly for more than three years and before that we did email blasts for more than a decade. It requires time, labor and knowhow. I have seen some really good stuff from retailers and others that are downright horrible. Keeping it fresh and pulling out older content is a good start. Some stores’ Facebook pages have their last entry from 2014. I have a few folks whose job it is to keep things going, and we try to make new catering or meat videos that also get posted on our YouTube channel. One huge thing for us, as mentioned above, is how quickly we respond to our customers questions and concerns. Our response rate is very good, as it is important to answer questions within a few hours or less. There are some pretty sophisticated websites out there that require a staff of employees to make them run smoothly, but no matter the size keep it focused and fresh with great photos, and above all engage… Read more »

Social marketing continues to be a struggle for both retailers and CPG brands. A global CIO at a very prominent CPG company told me, “Although we have a huge presence in social channels, we literally have no social strategy.” I personally believe that marketers don’t fully leverage the tools that are available to take the mystery out of social. It is hard to say if and when specific social channels will emerge as the de facto choice(s) for consumers, at least for more than five years straight. Too much churn is still happening out there. Until that happens, marketers need to make an impact in the channels that matter (today) and use technologies that can accurately determine where to invest.

Could the retail industry think social media is selling? If so, that is the problem. Maybe social media for retailers should rely more on being responsive to customer needs and comments. I am far from an expert in this; but being able to communicate with the customer seems more important than trying to sell them something.