e-Commerce moving to Social Commerce

According to ComScore, the 4th quarter of 2009 marked the sign of positive growth in the year with both retail and e-commerce showing gains. ComScore also stated that a social media is becoming an important driver of commerce, where social media influenced 28% of holiday purchases.

A recent report from FFP Global states that: “online shopping is moving from a transaction mentality to one that embodies discovery, entertainment and social bonding experience.”

The report goes on to list five key e-commerce trends for 2010:

Smarter Mobility: Smartphones have continued to grow due to their wider screens and applications. Mobile phone and handheld devices will see more applications to help drive ecommerce sales.
Fulfillment Rules: Retailers will begin to consider “regional fulfillment centers” due to rising fuel costs and the demand for quicker delivery times.
Customer Service: Consumers will begin utilizing an ever increasing number of communication channels: i.e.: texting, accessing information, free expression, immediate feedback, etc. All of these pose a challenge that e-retailers must take seriously.
Relevancy is Virally Important: E-retailers are starting to become more than suppliers of goods and services and must proactively develop a personality that market segments can accept. They must listen; actively engage in conversations with their current and potential customers and more.
Business Intelligence meets Business Process: In 2010, businesses will need to commit to the information in their data banks to create marketing and sales business processes to help provide them a competitive advantage.

According to a recent Razorfish report, “65% of consumers report having had a digital experience that either positively or negatively changed their opinion about a brand.” Additionally, “97% of that group said that their digital experience influenced their decision whether or not to purchase a product or service.”

Consumers are evolving quickly. Social Commerce is demanding that brands invite their customers to the "dinner table" and engage, listening, learning, and navigating new ways to facilitate need. Attention to detail in service and fulfillment remain cornerstone attributes for a positive "buying" experience. Give your best customers
more benefits not less.

Start rewarding and stop discounting!

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Who is the Social Customer?

§ The social customer is engaged, consuming information in real time, learning about breaking news through Twitter and Facebook , favoring her personal feeds which she has curated and surfaced as important information.

§ The social customer learns about new products and brands through social channels and trusts her social network to provide honest feedback about it, as opposed to a brand’s one-way message of persuasion.

§ The social customer is smart, no longer responding to unsolicited SPAM in her social networks or overly promotional tweets, but is open to relevant information that meets her needs at that particular moment.

§ The social customer expects brands to be present and active in the same social venues where she hangs out, listening to her feedback, whether it’s negative or positive.

§ The social customer expects you to listen and engage with her, not only when it coincides with an e-mail blast or new feature release, but rather when she needs you. And you better respond fast, in real-time, or she will either move on to a competitor, or tell her friends about her bad experiences.

§ Because the social customer can talk to a brand through many channels at the same time, she expects everyone she talks to from your company to have the same background on her issue. For example, if I complain about an experience on Twitter, I want the representative who engages me there to know my relationship with the brand, and can easily view the history of interactions I have had.

Bottom line: The social customer owns the relationship, and you need to earn her trust and respect.

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I-Pad is A Game-Changer for Retailers:

One of the over-looked consequences of the I-Pad will be the impact on retail and e-commerce. I-Pad's digital dashboard, and mobility will enable retailers to make their dreams come true: Driving entertaining and informative content about their products in direct "engagement" with viewers - Viewers who may be existing customers, or potential new prospects. The merchandising of the I-Pad will motivate merchants to tap into digital technology in new and innovative ways.

Here are just a few ways that the I-Pad will be used at retail:

Catalogs: - Online version of print catalogs with embedded video and "browsing" incentives.

Personalization: - Product customization where customers will access and easily view an archive of fabrics, colors, and finishes, which will generate an increase in "special orders" helping retailers to manage inventory, without compromise to customer service.

Store Sales Support: Imagine the benefits for a store associate with access to product and customer data, and reviews, enhancing the ability to transact successfully away from the traditional register check-out.

Registries: The I-Pad will enable customers to register across broader categories and depth of inventory.

Testimonial Reviews: Customers will view online catalogs and e-commerce sites while connected to their Facebook community, ask for advice, and receive real-time testimonials from their "friends".

Story Selling: The I-Pad will enable a great number of artisan workshops, third world cooperatives, and makers with limited production to reach their customers and share the stories which make their products compelling. Social commerce will thrive on the I-Pad encouraging the further dis-intermediation of traditional distribution channels.

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Free Delivery - Part 1: Social Retailing

Social Retailing will scale rapidly, beginning this year and accelerating in 2011, and 2012. Why? The consequences derived from the increasing influence from the FOUR C - Connectivity. Content, Community and Commerce. Watch as social network platforms enable "trust agents" to emerge representing small groups and large communities, now certain to influence and power the next-evolution in e-commerce..Expansion of social networking platforms will allow Twitter followers to organize quickly around a targeted call to action, linking the purchasing power of one, with many...enabling the group to maximize value from products and services, essentially "buying" products and services at the lowest costs for the most value.

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7 E-commerce Strategies Working Well

1. Use expanded descriptions, multiple product views to convey the real value of your products. You wouldn’t nail down shirts in a clothing store so why would you only offer one view of your products? This doesn’t have to use elaborate or expensive technology, multiple views, close-ups and live use photos can provide a lot of information other stores don’t bother to share.

2. Invite customer opinion with customer product reviews and real life testimonials. Consider adding customer comments as audio clips. Adding customers audio testimonials can be a simple as taping a phone conversation. (With permission of course) Using audio clips is simple, inexpensive and does not require technical expertise or expensive online tools. By itself an audio testimonial may not make the sale but it is a very effective tipping tool, helping to nudge reticent buyers over their hesitation and into a sale.

3. Offer relevant information that doesn’t sell. You heard me right, give people information for free without trying to sell them anything. Remember that the main reason people are online is to get information -period. That is the primary goal especially before they buy. Statistics show that the longer people stay on your website the more likely they are to buy from your store (even if they decide to buy at a brick and mortar store) Use an irresistible giveaway to capture emails of people not yet ready to buy and use your content to keep them engaged until they are ready.

You can write articles, give teleclasses, offer whitepapers, provide downloads, share interviews, recipes or helpful hints. Make sure the information is informative, entertaining and relevant to your customers rather than a veiled attempt to sell. People can smell hype a mile away and this is the kiss of death online. Always remember your competitors are only a click away.

4. Get into video. A brief welcome message that shares your value proposition can give s a call to action can engage visitors and move them down the buying path. Use videos to educate your visitors on product uses or assembly. Create a short comparing product features or demonstrate the product in use. Keep your videos short (under 3 minutes) and clear. Host your videos on public sites like Viddler or Youtube and post them on your website. Here are a few examples talking about connecting with your website visitors.

It might seem that video clips within product descriptions are a luxury but I foresee video product descriptions as being the norm within 5 years. According to Internet tracking firm comScore’s Video Metrix, Americans watched about 14.8 billion videos in January 2009, or roughly 101 videos per U.S. Internet user. Todays online shoppers are using alternate avenues like YouTube to research product. Get a jump on the competition by giving your online shoppers a bigger experience, not by lowering your prices.

5. Put a face on your store - people buy form people not computers. Yes they use the computer to do it but they want to know there are real people who will back up their purchases, especially with higher ticket items, or products they are not sure they need. This will become increasingly important in a slow economy because buyers are not as willing to risk a purchase if they feel their concerns will get lost in cyberspace.

Consider adding human pictures to your about us page. Include staff picks or reviews and encourage your employees to write on the blog, social media sites and to contribute articles. After all these are the people your virtual customers will interact with. Don’t hide behind a virtual storefront - don’t be afraid to let your customers get to know the people they are buying from.

6. Make sure your online store has a clear value proposition that speaks to your target market. This value statement must answer the question that is on your best customers mind; “Why should I buy form you over the other guys?” If your website cannot convey this critical piece of information then your visitors will definitely miss it. Your ideal customer should immediately recognize that they are in the perfect place when they land on your ecommerce site.

Many online stores resist crafting a clear value proposition that targets a particular type of customer for fear of alienating other visitors. Look at your statistics and you might see that you make most of your money from a niche group or groups. A clear value proposition targets these customers and tells them exactly why you are the best solution to their problem.

7. Use social media to establish relationships and get feedback. Believe it or not your customers are hanging out in communities online. No, you may not visit Facebook or Linked in but social media sites are doubling every year. They aren’t just for teenagers anymore. The purpose of social media sites is to share opinions and interests. Connect with target market through blogs, twitter, linked in, Facebook, Stumbleupon or any of the dozens of niche social media sites.

Your customers are having conversations with or without you so schedule in an hour a week to schmooze online. This is a way to make connections, not sales - keep it authentic , informative and reap the benefits of worldwide word of mouth referrals.

The way people buy has changed forever with internet ecommerce. The world is literally your marketplace and customers can live just about anywhere. Using just one of these suggestions could immediately increase your ecommerce store profits. Now imagine what implementing all 7 could do!

These simple ecommerce strategies can help your online store stand out in a digital world.closer to the source" more "directly", Value Up...Prices Down...Win Win....

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Social Media and Digital Activism

What is the relevance of new social networking technologies in our culture and society; and how can we use these tools for digital activism in order to foster positive social change, throughout the world. This is the central question for an historic event, which I am co-executive producer here in New York on March 15th, at the prestigious Paley Center for Media. Ai Weiwei, the leading Chinese contemporary artist, and unquestionably the most prominent social activist in China today, will take the stage to engage in a conversation with Jack Dorsey, co-creator of Twitter, and Richard MacManus, the founder of RWW - Read-Write-Web, the international technology blog.
Stay tuned here for updates and links to the event on this important topic.

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Social Commerce: Needs Integrated Platforms

As information sharing and socialization converge on the Web, it has become increasingly important that software development should focus on creating intuitive platforms that connect an individual's interaction needs with the world around him. By bridging the gap between social consciousness, transactions and socialization, the next-generation social media platform needs to incorporate three key components: social responsibility, eCommerce and communication.

Charities As we have seen during the Haiti Earthquake relief, social responsibility is top priorities for all brands, from celebrities to multi-national corporations. Despite the effectiveness of fundraising efforts, there has always been a distance between the message and the medium. By providing a platform where individuals of influence and celebrities can leverage their influence to generate donations instantly, without changing sites, fundraising efforts stand to mobilize more donations.

By eliminating extra steps, the platform should deliver both the content and the means to participate in charity events.

eCommerce Have you ever purchased anything directly through a social media site? Probably not. Social media sites have created a chasm between interest and transaction that has not been crossed in one application. By reducing the distance between consumers and purchase, companies stand to generate more sales on an integrated platform. Add a layer of security and bank account information protection to it, and you have an easy-to-use transaction system that makes spending simpler, immediate and safer.

A new platform needs to integrate online commerce with the user-experience so that content creators and retailers can have more direct access to consumers.

Communication The next best thing to having a person next to you is being able to see them, hear them and interact with them in real time. Web video streaming and VoIP need to be first-class citizens in the feature set. So does the instant sharing of thoughts, media, insights and content. A converged platform where mobile, Web and you intersect is paramount. Also, privacy must be a top concern and efforts to keep out unwanted wandering eyes must supersede all others.

Interaction must be instantaneous and protected. The next-generation social network must focus on the individual, not the worth of their content. I want to thank Ivan Pena for his contributions to this blogpost.

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