Live From New Orleans: Tips for E-Branding
Amazon.com knows customers are the best advocates of a company’s brands: It attracts new sales through the customer book-review section on its Web site. ” Online reviews provide the best homage because [they’re] unsolicited,” said Chet Van Wert, president of the CMJ Network, speaking yesterday at the Direct Marketing Association’s annual fall conference.
Smart firms also make their e-mail viral, encouraging people to pass on this type of offer to their friends, Van Wert added. ” That’s not spam. You’re asking them to forward it to people who’d be interested.”
On the flip side, many companies’ customers form their own online talk groups to discuss products and similar interests. Set one up for them, Van Wert suggested. ” Don’t be afraid of bad PR — online, there is nowhere to hide. If your service is crummy, [they’ll] find out anyway.” After setting it up, monitor it — and respond to comments, he said.
Another way to build a brand is to pay particular attention to first-time purchasers, offered Cindy Dale, partner at Cullen Dale Associates. Don’t fail to send a welcome e-mail, she said. But if they’ve purchased a high-cost item, telephone them.
Give existing customers rewards at key relationship stages, Dale continued. ” Things that come by surprise really build customer loyalty.” She cited Garden. com’s practice of tucking extra information into packages. Create a frequent-shopper program. Mine the database to determine the top 5% of buyers and reward them, she suggested.
Differentiate your site from others. CMJ, which markets new music online and off, is the only site that features charts showing which college and independent sites are playing new releases, said Van Wert.
Finally, in a multi-channel strategy, take advantage of each channel, as Lands’ End does with its catalog overstocks promoted by e-mail, which go down in price as the overstock items are purchased.
