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September 21th, 2009 by Chris Brogan | Author, “Trust Agents”; President of New Marketing Labs
We’re in a strange space right now. Advertising is pulling fewer and fewer people into the sales pipeline. People are gleaning purchase decisions from friends in social networks, as well as via online reviews. The science of why we buy has shifted a bit with regards to how it’s seen in the online world versus the offline experience. Having recently published a book about building trust in the online world, Trust Agents, I have some thoughts on how retailers might think about establishing trust and improving their business relationships.
Be Human at a Distance
The new tools of the web (social networks, social media like blogs and Twitter) are about connecting with people. They are a mix of customer service meets relationship-based marketing. Learn how to participate in online conversations and you’re halfway to building influence out of awareness with your prospects and customers. Learn how to talk about their interests instead of your products, and to “listen at the point of need” by growing bigger ears.
Make Your Own Game
The winners in the new online space don’t compete with broad categories and vague product clusterings. They go deep into areas where they can build a unique perspective, and find tight communities of interested people who are already talking about your products or products in your category. Cirque du Soleil became a premier entertainment brand by rethinking the circus model: removing elephants, removing cheap vending, removing the traveling aspect, removing celebrities, and by amping up the performance and the quality and the design aspects. Could you rethink your retail experience such that it’s the Cirque du Soleil of your space?
Become One of Us
One way to compete from the trust agent perspective is to have accessible humans in the social arenas. Facebook isn’t just for college kids any more. With over 750,000 new members joining a day, most of whom are in the 31-60 age range, why wouldn’t you have a presence there, if only to be ready to answer questions about your service, or to participate in online discussions about your product space? Twitter isn’t as large yet, but many retail brands have a presence there, and are finding unique ways to monetize the space. Learn from people like @Woot (the Twitter presence of Woot.com), or @DellOutlet (for computer manufacturer Dell). By being a participant in the social space, new opportunities can arise.
For the bonus round on this, consider putting a face or two to the brand. Comcast, the cable company, promotes Frank Eliason as the face behind @comcastcares, their Twitter account, and now Frank has brought on another 10 people to work with him on resolving customer issues for Comcast. Having a face in the game gives people an even deeper level of connection, because we’re attuned to that experience of wanting to see the people we do business with.
Raise the Bar on Trust as a Priority
Is “be a trusted source for our customers” a top 5 goal of your organization? Are you measuring it? Trust and your reputation are all you have in this space. As barriers to entry drop lower and lower, challengers to your space are multiplying. One surefire way to compete is on the level of trust your customers feel with your processes and methods. Take Las Vegas-based Zappos.com, who recently sold to Amazon for just shy of $1 billion dollars. They built their business on a trusted return policy and on top quality customer service. It’s not rocket science what they did, but ask yourself whether this is a top priority (or even in the top 5) at your organization. Are you really there for your customers, or are you there for their revenue? The difference will decide the game in the coming months.
The obvious tools like PPC search marketing and the like are great for driving attention to a site, and you understand that technology well. When we talk about trust, we talk about people skills and what it means to build business relationships, and how this applies to the larger mission of your organization overall. You’ve worked hard to build your brand. These new social tools give you the opportunity to push past marketing speak and advertising copy and into true, two-way connections with people eager to make purchases, once they feel they can trust you.
The results aren’t immediate. It’s like joining a gym or starting a diet. You don’t decide to be trustworthy and then suddenly make 1,000 new sales the next day, just like you don’t join a gym and drop 30 pounds the first week. Give the experiences time. Be willing to experiment and make little “labs” for your projects. I can tell you that traditional advertising methods (online and off) are losing their level of returns. These tools are inexpensive, and mostly require sweat equity and time. Can you afford to pass on the opportunity to build trusted relationships with your prospects and customers?
Chris Brogan is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust. He blogs regularly at [chrisbrogan.com] Meet Chris at the Amazon Payments booth (#313) on Tuesday morning (9/22) to receive a free copy of Trust Agents.
