Comment: Twitter & retail – best practice
80% of users access Twitter via mobile devices. While on the go, users consume news and search for products and brands they have just seen and want to engage with. By Anne McCreary
Twitter was designed for mobile and as we move to a ‘culture of immediacy’, it becomes more relevant. With Twitter, the world is in your hand via your phone and as payment goes mobile, so will brand engagement and the opportunity to sell directly to users via Twitter.
Twitter is also becoming a key customer service tool as people increasingly use the micro-blogging platform to voice their concerns, exercise purchase power and force businesses to take immediate actions. Once issues are on Twitter, they spread like wild fire. A very dangerous tool for marketers, but if correctly used and if proper resources are in place, it drives advocacy and brand sentiment.
ASOS @ASOS has also developed a great post-sales customer care – actively mentioning people who have just bought something on ASOS (package/delivery experience). ASOS’s ‘push’ culture extends the brand into people’s lives. By being at key cultural events/festivals tweeting out a ‘live-diary’ of ASOS fans, as well as promoting flash sales and fashion tips – the fans and the brand are inseparable.
Never Miss a Retail Update!KLM @KLM uses Twitter to provide outstanding customer service – 24/7 service in 10 different languages responding to customer requirements efficiently with a human touch. Even when a problem cannot be resolved instantly they maintain contact to ensure the customer does not feel abandoned.
Twitter can also be an extremely effective tool for fostering customer loyalty. People use Twitter because they want to start a dialogue. It is therefore key that you know your audience, in order to feed them with relevant content, rewards and sneak peaks.
Burberry @Burberry has built a global tribe of Burberry lovers that allows Burberry buyers to showcase their affluence and success without seeming brash. It’s like being a member of the exclusive club of global, wealthy, professionals without having to say it yourself – a discrete form of bragging! Burberry is using Twitter like a ‘lookbook’, images of lots of different people wearing Burberry.
Channel @CHANEL uses twitter for live fashion shows – allowing you to be there in the moment, experiencing all the excitement, colour and frenzy of the catwalk and the backstage. The public is invited in to be the arbiters/curators of the collection. @CHANEL is instant, exciting and keeps the brand relevant for a younger audience. Exclusive, whilst being inclusive. Intimate whilst being public.
Anne McCreary is digital strategy director at the Carat global media agency.
