Social media marketing. Even though I frequently rely on customer reviews before making a purchase, I didn't really think of this as a formal marketing strategy until this course encouraged me to really delve into the world of web 2.0.
On the one hand, organizations may be intimidated by this movement. Allowing uncensored customers' opinions and perspectives to be apart of an organization's marketing campaign has the potential to produce a message that is incongruent with what's intended. However, censoring customers' views may result in angry patrons who distrust the organization, potentially leading them to boycott and speak poorly of the company to other customers. Hmmm... I can see where someone unfamiliar with web 2.0 may be concerned.
Despite this, I think the benefits of social media marketing largely outweigh the potential disadvantages. Social media marketing allows organizations to connect directly with customers. This provides a means of obtaining direct feedback from one's target audience that can be used to improve the product or service. Additionally, it's a cost effective method of marketing, as many of the web 2.0 sites offer free memberships (Facebook, Twitter). Furthermore, it enables an organization to reach a wide range of people and the element of interactivity between organization and customer can help to drive traffic to the organization's website.
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI rely on customer comments when making electronic purchases over the internet. I would not use a company that doesn't post both positive and negative customer products.
This brings up an interesting topic-- how does an organization "recover" in the face of negative public feedback/review? Previous research has shown that a business that initially disappoints/fails but then makes it "right" tends to aquire more loyal customers, because they now know that if they are unhappy the company will listen to them and try to rememdy the problem. One implication for social media marketing may be to ensure that a review can be augmented with reports of subsequent response.
ReplyDelete