At the recent eTail conference in Washington DC, a hot topic was the role of user-generated content in driving sales and customer satisfaction. Retailers whose sites enable and embrace user-generated content — such as reviews, recommendations, and feedback — generate better sales, trust, and customer satisfaction from their consumer base. Because consumers increasingly control brand perception and buying decisions, successful retailers are increasingly investing in technologies and processes that embrace this fact of life — whether it is PETCO implementing a reviews site and seeing their return rate reduced; Zappos investing in excellent customer service to drive organic word of mouth; or Shoebuy realizing a 15% conversion rate from online shoppers who were influenced by a peer recommendation.

It is only a matter of time before everyone is doing this, and must be doing it to stay competitive. As Jim (our CEO) covered in his eTail keynote, the era of “connected commerce” is now, requiring a fundamental paradigm shift in marketing strategy that focuses on enabling consumer-initiated brand and product advocacy. People advocate when they are emotionally engaged, so a marketer’s primary goal should be to provide brand experiences that create strong, positive emotional connections - inspiring consumers to share those experiences within their social circles. Since consumers are inherently complex and unpredictable, the only way to determine what will engage them is through trialing and testing, knowing how to measure and optimize, and steering the experience toward what generates the greatest positive emotional reaction.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 10:02 am and is filed under Viral Marketing News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.