Like many of you, I began the holiday shopping season armed with Santa lists and subtle suggestions for my loved ones. Being a typical guy, I like to knock out the majority of my shopping with one fell swoop of the card.
For my smaller dollar purchases, I try to economize my time, usually ending up at large retailers with reputations for offering a wide selection of products, quality customer service, and most of all—competitive pricing. With the larger purchases it’s a whole new ball game! My natural instincts kick in, and shopping turns into a scene out of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Higher dollar purchases are infrequent, so when I go in for the kill, I want to make sure I got the right product at the right price.
My big game target this year was a digital SLR camera. As part of my normal hunting routine, I scour the internet and local print advertising for the best deals, and believe it or not, finding the best price is always pretty easy. Why? Because price is the commodity piece of the consumer transaction; information is fairly objective and transparent.
Finding the best product, though—not so simple. Why? Trust. Like many consumers, I tend to trust third party reviews and recommendations over manufacturer or distributor claims; in fact, recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising, per the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 internet consumers from 50 countries. Ninety percent of consumers surveyed said they trust recommendations from people they know, and an equally impressive 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.
Fifteen years ago I would have started my camera search with Consumer Reports, because let’s face it; Consumer Reports was social media before social media was cool. Seven years ago I would have likely utilized both Consumer Reports online and CNET. Now I go to Consumer Reports, CNET , and the blogosphere, and apparently, so do many other consumers. New research from comScore Inc. shows that 28 percent of consumers have had their holiday season purchases influenced by social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
There is a trend here; with each new holiday hunting trip, I looked to gather more information from more sources. That aggregation of data helped me better map the marketplace. Adding social media tools to my arsenal this holiday season gave me greater access to information to leverage the power of current marketing pricing, as well as current market sentiment.
This leads me to my main point. Companies selling products or services must understand the consumer’s incessant desire to collect more and more information to inform their buying decisions. It lessens their risk of purchase, and that is what it’s all about. Not one wants to buy a lemon, much less get a bad deal for it. Social media plays a huge role in this decision making process—be it via online reviews or interactive product videos, as demonstrated by Nike and Zappos. Companies must be present to help shape, influence, and inform customers about their products to ensure that a lack of information—or disinformation—doesn’t lead their customers astray.
[Photo from thewalkingirony on Flickr / CC BY 2.0]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great points Nathan. I too look to social media and the internet for my important purchases and I think society as a whole does the same, as your facts point out. It is getting to the point where sales people are really not needed, consumers have the data and have made their decisions before entering the place of business…if they enter at all. My last vehicle purchase could have been done online, of course I wanted to drive the beast before I bought it and that, as of yet, is not available online.
Pete – thanks for your post. I really appreciate your comments. I would not go as far to see that sales people are not needed, I do still feel that Sales organizations play a critical role in help educating and communicating to customers. Sales people will still play a huge role in traditional brick and mortar sales for a long time to come, and I anticipate that companies with online store fronts will evolve their sales approach online and make more sales interactions possible using social media tools and resources. Customer service representatives will be more and more empowered by companies to make decisions and will slowly blur the line between customer service and sales.
USAA, http://www.usaa.com is a great example. USAA is bank nationally known for their superior customer service. I’ve banked with them for years. USAA is an online bank and has learned faster than their peers on how to improve the entire customer experience. USAA service reps not only provide excellent traditional customer service, but they also have the knowledge and authority to sell products and services.
Thanks,
Nate