News

New media, new opportunities

Blogs, forums, e-mail level the playing field among retailers.

August 17, 2008

This article originally published in Retail Customer Experience magazine, Sep. 2008. Click here to download a free PDF version.

How much do you think it would cost to reach two million potential buyers of hiking boots — ten thousand dollars? A hundred thousand? A million?

For retailers, technologies such as e-mail, blogs, message boards and podcasts have created an exciting array of possibilities for reaching the consumer. The best thing about these tools is that anyone, regardless of company size or budget, can take advantage of what they offer.

Message boards and blogs

To begin, it's important to differentiate blogs — content written by a single reviewer — from content written by many consumers on a message board or discussion forum. Both types serve to inform potential customers, but there are differences.

Crutchfield (crutchfield.com) is a good example of a company making the most of forums and blogs. In 1974, Bill Crutchfield found that customers bought electronic automotive accessories with more confidence once he began to provide information about how the products worked, how to install them and even how to use them. Crutchfield saw his catalog sales rise.

Maintaining its commitment to consumer education and feedback, the company added blogs and discussion forums to its Web site in early 2007.

"The blogs allow us to continue to educate our customers by offering tips on how to operate a particular product and professional opinions on how well something works," said Jim Richardson, Crutchfield's senior social media manager. "The forums are a great way to listen to what customers and prospective customers are thinking about and what they want from us."

Gary Drenik, president of consumer monitoring firm BIGresearch, agreed. Word of mouth, he said, still is the No. 1 source for influencing customers' buying decisions. In the age of new media, "word of mouth" includes online customer reviews and message boards.

"Companies are not just talking to one person anymore," Drenik said. Online forums provide "an opportunity for [consumers] to read the opinions of other consumers who have experience with the product and help formulate their own decision."

"The real lesson to retailers is to use a multifaceted approach to reach customers." — Tim Herbert,
senior director of marketing research, Consumer Electronics Association

The good news: Blogs and discussion forums can be done relatively inexpensively. For them to be successful, however, a company must commit to maintaining them, Richardson said. Forums need to be reviewed regularly for customer feedback, and information posted needs to be what the consumer is looking for. Time to monitor the forums is more of an issue than cost, he said.

Podcasting

Podcasting may be one of the best-kept secrets of new media. Podcasts, a series of audio or — as is increasingly common — video files, are distributed over the Internet for playback on any compatible media player. Podcasts can be downloaded; streamed from a Web site; or syndicated, subscribed to and automatically pushed to subscribers when new content is added.

This technology gives companies a worldwide audience, increases brand awareness and provides a new way to communicate instantly with consumers, said Chaz Rough, president and CEO of PodFactory.net, a company that specializes in podcast production and management.

Rough has worked with sporting equipment manufacturer Hillerich & Bradsby (H&B) since July 2006 to develop a video podcast marketing program around the company's Bionic Glove. He said this program is a great example of how to get maximum use from this very new medium.

"The podcasts vary, but always provide a detailed golf tip and, at the end, we ask for viewer feedback. They can send us questions, which we then use to create future shows. We also offer free giveaways to those who contact us and capture their addresses, e-mails and other essential contact information, thereby adding to our database," Rough said.

Rough said successful podcasts are lifestyle-based and focus on life experiences rather than the product. Soft-selling is the goal.

Crutchfield's blogs and Bionic Glove's video podcasts demonstrate two ways retailers can use new media to reach customers.

The 5- to 7-minute Bionic Glove segments are not scripted. Rough said they even keep goof ups in the video when they happen. This real-world feel keeps consumers coming back and gets them to forward a podcast to their friends and family, said Rough.

H&B's 12 most recent Bionic Glove podcasts are downloadable for free on iTunes, while all the older ones are archived and sold for $1.99.

The company put its earliest golf tips podcasts onto a DVD that was packaged with the Bionic Glove and sold as a set for $29.95. In both cases, having the podcasts created another revenue stream for the company and added value to its existing product.

Retailers that just are beginning to enter the realm of podcast production might benefit from partnering with manufacturers, Rough suggested. A retailer can approach a product manufacturer such as H&B and work with it to produce a podcast featuring a specific product. This way, they can share the costs and benefits.

E-marketing

While e-mail marketing is not as new as blogging or podcasting, it is an important method for customer contact. As the cost of printing and postage continues to rise, e-newsletters offer a cost-effective way to communicate with consumers. In addition to cost savings, e-newsletter content can be changed quickly to reflect sales or new merchandise.

Myemma.com and Quantum Leap are two companies that offer e-mail newsletter services. They work with their clients to create a template for the information and store e-mail address lists. Clients can change or update newsletter information as often as they like at no additional cost, and the company maintains the client's database. Costs vary depending on the amount of content and size of the e-mail lists, but a base package, including newsletter template design, e-mail list storage and bi-weekly distribution, could run as little as $1,000 per year.

Web site content

With all these new technologies demanding attention, don't forget about your company Web site. It still is the hub of activity and the place consumers will go to for information. The video tutorial you filmed for your podcast should have a home on your Web site, as well. Make room for discussion boards and allow consumers to provide feedback on your products and their experiences.

When trying to reach customers, one solution doesn't fit everyone, says Tim Herbert, senior director of marketing research for the Consumer Electronics Association. "Consumers access information differently and in a variety of ways. For every person that uses online video tutorials, there is another person who comes into a store for hands-on training. The real lesson to retailers is to use a multifaceted approach to reach customers and build loyalty in all the different customer segments.

"Today, with the speed with which information flows, it is hard to hide weaknesses."

Kym Voorhees Raque is a freelancer and contributor to Retail Customer Experience magazine.