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Missing links: Established retailers misunderstand online platforms.

Online marketing is niche no more as consumer behaviour continues to change as rapidly as the technology itself. Consumers share, communicate and connect in ways that are forcing businesses to keep up or be left behind.

An online marketing consultant specialising in small and medium-sized businesses, Toby Marshall , chief executive of Sydney consulting firm Lead Creation , says many businesses have been caught flatfooted by consumers’ embrace of peer-to-peer social networks and real-time technologies.

“Ninety per cent of people start their buying decisions on the web; they Google their purchases, they read peer reviews,” Marshall says.

But if major retailers such as Harvey Norman and David Jones can find themselves out of step with the impact of the internet, small business can hardly be blamed for not keeping up with the habits of online consumers.

Ruslan Kogan , founder of online electronics retailer Kogan, says established retailers are so convinced that consumers want to “touch and feel” before they buy they misunderstand the customer service and satisfaction online platforms can deliver.

“When you walk into a Harvey Norman store to buy a chair or a couch, you have no idea what the people who bought that chair thought of it three weeks or three months later,” Kogan says. “Buying online is completely different. You can read reviews, you can read the experiences of other customers – were they happy with the service? Were they happy with the chair when they got it home?”

Marshall says social media provides businesses with an audience “similar to a conference and trade show combined – a conference that’s online 24/7”.

He explains how social media can be used as a powerful marketing tool: Enhance your reputation. Use social media to engage and develop relationships with clients and prospects.

Create word-of-mouth. Relationships create word-of-mouth and it won’t be long before customers look for you.

No more selling. Rather than spamming your customers, help them. What problems are they trying to solve? What information do they want?

Get them talking. An online community that prospective buyers can join and ask questions, and see the questions of others, may be that tipping point to turn them into customers.

Build after-sales service. By forming an online community, businesses give clients access to resources that enhance their experience of doing business with you.

Attract testimonials. By giving customers access to resources and your expertise, they are more likely to recommend you.

Melanie Ingrey , online market research director at research firm Nielsen, says the most common activity among online consumers in Australia – 73 per cent – is tapping into other consumers’ opinions on social media.

“It has been a revolution in the methods by which consumers can connect with brands, connect with other consumers to discuss brands and source other consumers’ opinions about brands,” she says.

BRW

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