In a recent Internet Retailing webinar, Brand engagement: how the Top500 retailers best connect with customers, we heard from Greg Zakowicz, senior commerce marketing analyst at Bronto Software , in a webinar that centred on IREU Top500 research into brand engagement, and expanded to focus on best practice approaches to the area. Here’s a bulletpoint overview.
• Consumer behaviour – then and now: the move to omnichannel and always connected consumers. It’s important to “recognise that shift in behaviour and what consumers now expect”.
• Brand engagement is about communicating with customers.
• IREU Top500 most likely to use email (70% influence on purchases) and social (46%) to do that.
Social
• Overall, 89% of European consumers use Facebook, and 90% of these use it to interact with brands.
• Search visibility: Amazon vs UK Top500: Amazon in 262m monthly search results, IREU Top500 average 3.4m.
• Strategies for improving visibility, eg social media, on-site blog.
• Findings of cross-border shopping research: 80% of UK consumers would shop online from overseas websites.
• Cross-border engagement: examples: Boohoo.com, Otto, Decathlon.
• Poll: Are you currently using social media in different languages Yes: 17%, No: 74%, No, but we plan to: 9%.
• Customer service: research findings; examples: Otto
• Poll: Do you actively use social media as a customer service channel? Yes: 58% No: 42%
• Customer service recap: social, have support staff, respond quickly, use complaints to build a stronger relationship.
Email
• Making a difference in customer service.
• Email engagement: how to, with examples.
• Most aren’t read but welcome messages are the most read.
• How to reflect user behaviour in the welcome message.
• Abandoned basket strategies: analyses how to differentiate between which to use, testing which to use, eg free shipping, discounts etc.
• Poll: Are you currently customising your welcome series or basket abandonment messages: No: 67%; Welcome series only: 26%; Basket abandonment only: 0%; both: 7%.
Social & email
• Combining them through engaging content: collecting and using user-generated content: examples: John Lewis.
Poll: If you had to rate your engagement strategies, would you rate yourself as: Excellent: 0%; Average: 74%; Poor: 26%.
Final thoughts: Ever connected consumers expect a better experience; one size email programmes don’t fit all, social is a tool for engagement, information and customer service. Customer loyalty is at a premium in an age of global shopping – how are you creating loyalty?
The webinar was followed by a Q&A session. To see the webinar and the Q&A session in full, visit the Bronto webinar page here.
